Tag Archives: Zippy the Pinhead

Apply the absinthe as an ointment….

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Ffolkes,
Some mornings, just listening to the coffee brew, smelling that wonderful aroma, as it turns itself into the nectar we crave, is sufficient to soothe the savage breast….. or, would be, were it not 0447 in the AM…. I guess I hit the rack a little early last night, as my eyes popped open, with obvious intent to stay that way, just a few moments ago, and forced me out of bed, somewhat less than breathlessly eager to start the day. Unsure as to whether or not I should piss or go blind, I shall proceed to do neither….

I think, in this instance, I’m going to drop back five yards, and punt….. an option I often forget to utilize. Modern football has lost its class, for the most part, having long ago forfeited any such claim for the excitement of outright savagery, so the strategic advantage of such a play is lost on most students of today’s game. But, it can still go a long way toward improving one’s field position, especially if trapped on one’s own end of the playing field.  I enjoy the look of surprise and consternation on Murphy’s face when I boot the ball over his head, sending him scrambling….. One of the few moments I spend with him that I can honestly say I enjoy….

There, that’s done…. I decided, since I was up so damn early, why not be efficient? So, in two short paragraphs, otherwise known as one swell foop, I have completed the morning’s quota of BS and nonsense, and mentioned Murphy. so he can’t say I didn’t give him his due, thereby filling two requirements with one intro…. In addition, it has created three entirely acceptable paragraphs of that intro section, which is practically the whole nine yards…. What a deal!….

Not only that, but in the process, I’ve managed to create enough space in my head to find my mojo. Yep, I just looked over, and there it was, all shiny and rested since my last use, when I got so carried away I….. well, I probably shouldn’t talk about it…. the statute of limitation hasn’t been reached yet…. But, never mind that…. now that I’ve got my mojo firmly tucked away in a pocket, we can go directly to work, and feel confident that, whatever happens, it will be for the best…. A bit naive, maybe, but no choice now but to cast off and set sail….. Shall we Pearl?….
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Within the oyster’s shell uncouth
The purest pearl may hide,
Trust me you’ll find a heart of truth
Within that rough inside.

— Mrs. Osgood

At last! It has been ages since I last saw this gem from Mrs. Osgood, whoever she is….. This, as is apparent, is my vision statement for this blog. In fact, it is the best statement I’ve seen, ever, to describe what a Pearl of Virtual Wisdom comprises, as it puts what is important, truth, right where it should be, covered and protected by a smooth surface of alabaster, surrounded by a crusty shell, so ugly it possesses an oddly beautiful strength. The only difference between a POVW and a real pearl then, is that only one of them can be held in your hand…. Otherwise, one is a metaphor for the other, interchangeable in the clever confines of our imagination….

Since I have been serendipitously rewarded for my search today by finding this, which I had misplaced, after a fashion (that means I forgot about it until just now, when I found it again….), I’ll take a moment here to give my disclaimer regarding those self-same Pearls…. to wit: Pearls of Virtual Wisdom are just that…. Virtual Wisdom. They are NOT real wisdom, and any attempt to use them as real wisdom is, well, a risky proposition at best….. The owner of this blog assumes no responsibility for any such misdirected folly, and will only apply first-aid as needed to maintain life signs until the arrival of professional medical personnel.

Okay, there…. sorry, but, you know how those bureaucrats are… Every once in a while I’m required to post that disclaimer, or they won’t renew my anti-irony insurance….. It’s a pain having to pay it…. I really don’t see much difference between insurance sold by corporations, and protection rackets run by organized criminal organizations…. Both are identical in outcome, i.e. you pay money to other people so they guarantee your safety from being robbed, but, only the former is legal…. I don’t understand fully why that is, because, as far as I can see, there isn’t any real difference.

If you pay the mob, then they don’t rob you themselves, so you are protecting yourself from them. With the bureaucrats, you pay them so you are allowed to remain in business, which, if you look at it, is exactly the same thing, but one shuts down the business by destroying the merchandise, the other by shutting the doors with lawsuits….. It’s just one more piece of evidence that government is nothing more than organized crime, only legal…..

Okay, that’s enough blathering…. I just wanted to share the poem with you, and take the opportunity to make sure that everyone who reads my stuff is aware of the delicate nature of its relevance to reality…. Remember, ffolkes, to take everything you see here with a grain of salt, or your favorite savory substance, or take it under advisement…. just take it, please….

“Why are these athletic shoe salesmen following me??” — Zippy the Pinhead
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Mirror

I am silver and exact.
I have no preconceptions.
Whatever I see I swallow immediately
Just as it is, unmisted by love or dislike.
I am not cruel, only truthful ‚
The eye of a little god, four-cornered.
Most of the time I meditate on the opposite wall.
It is pink, with speckles. I have looked at it so long
I think it is part of my heart. But it flickers.
Faces and darkness separate us over and over.

Now I am a lake. A woman bends over me,
Searching my reaches for what she really is.
Then she turns to those liars, the candles or the moon.
I see her back, and reflect it faithfully.
She rewards me with tears and an agitation of hands.
I am important to her. She comes and goes.
Each morning it is her face that replaces the darkness.
In me she has drowned a young girl, and in me an old woman
Rises toward her day after day, like a terrible fish.

~~ Sylvia Plath
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Chauvinism, confession, and guilt…..

I am an asshole. A jerk. A prick. A foul-mouthed, misbegotten excuse for a human being…. I am, as with most of my peers, a hypocrite, and deserving of permanent sentencing to the lowest pits of hell for my perfidy….. What, you might ask, prompted this outburst of self-denigration? Well, let me tell you….

Most of us, at some point or another, sit down from time to time to think about our actions, those we are considering, and those we have acted out in the past, to get some perspective on how those actions have conformed to our ethical and moral beliefs. In other words, we sit in self-judgment; whether we do so to praise or to chastise doesn’t matter, ultimately, as long as it is an honest appraisal, and we do not flinch from owning up to our baseness where it is found…..

This is why I am forced to curse myself…. Because I’m not a Catholic,  or any other faith that espouses such mummery, (I don’t mean to pick on Catholics…. some of my best friends, etc…..  🙂  They’re just the example everyone knows about….)….  Any who, because I’m not of that Tribe, I don’t have the luxury of confessing to a priest, who would then reassure me that I am still one of the Chosen Ones, and send me on my way having learned nothing but a false sense of entitlement. I can’t just pass off what I may have done in my life to some faceless butthead in a dress, who, no doubt, has a great laugh at the expense of the penitent, when he and the other priests get together in the rectory for a few drinks, passing around all the latest tall tales and outtakes from the confessional booth…..

I consider myself to be a morally upright person, and hope that my actions reflect that. But, I know for certain that, like every other human being who ever lived, I don’t always live up to those moral beliefs, and fall from grace on occasion…. If I were a less honest man, I’d say that there were mitigating, or at least explanatory reasons for my failures to hold to my own standards, but, if I tried that, my Dad would kick my ass from now until Thursday the next time I see him, so I’m not going to take that chance…. I take full responsibility for my actions, base and cruel as they were, and no one can hold me in lower regard than I do….

I had considered using this venue as a confessional, to air out my transgressions on the stage of reality, but, I don’t think that would be any more ethical than confessing to a priest…. Confession may make a difference to the penitent, by absolving him/her from any lingering guilt that could adversely affect them (i.e., they feel better about themselves after receiving absolution…), but, in truth, it doesn’t mean a damn thing, as nothing is done to balance the scale, in a karmic sense, especially for whatever creature or person that was the victim of the cruelty. The only act that would mean anything would be for the perpetrator to use the experience to motivate them to two things….

One, to try to repair whatever hurt or pain they have caused another creature…. man, animal, doesn’t matter…. They don’t deserve to be victimized, no matter their form, and ALL one can do, to fix any harm they have caused, is the least they should do…. Second, use the experience as motivation to make a change in themselves, to act with greater understanding, greater compassion, and greater control over themselves and their feelings…. which is what guilt is all about, right?…. The difference is that, when one confesses to a priest, and receives absolution; if the guilt is relieved, then there is no motivation to make any changes in their actions…. They know that none is necessary, as they can relieve themselves of any guilt they may feel by confessing, so why bother?

On the other hand, when one assumes the responsibility for their own actions, the guilt doesn’t go away…. I will never forgive myself for some of the things that I’ve done in my life (nor will I share them in any attempt to gain forgiveness from anyone else…. it’s none of their bloody business….)…. (Besides, that whole confessional thing just sounds too much like a blackmail scheme…. the people who confess are sure putting their fate trustingly into the hands of those priests, aren’t they?). That simple fact, of admitting and owning my guilt, is what keeps me from falling into the same ethical trap I did when I lost my cool, and acted without thinking,  or took my feelings out on innocent bystanders….. Not going to happen again, a sentiment which, I’m sure, is NOT what you can reasonably expect from any religicos after confession….

You will note that there are no pearls associated with this discussion…. That’s because I am such an asshole, none was needed to stimulate me into spilling my guts, so to speak…. Besides, I couldn’t find a proper pearl for the beginning of such a somber subject by the time I was ready to write about it…. But, Murphy must have liked the way I dissed myself, because I found these two, which, together, make a good closer for this subject…. Think of them as bookends….

“Character is doing the right thing when nobody’s looking. There are too many people who think that the only thing that’s right is to get by, and the only thing that’s wrong is to get caught.” — J. C. Watts

Boy, that hits the nail on the head, doesn’t it?…..    I’ve got these two quotes reversed in the order in which they make the most sense, but, given the state of things here, that isn’t surprising, is it…. This is the one that probably should go at the front of this piece, so, just put it there in your mind, okay? Thanks…..

“We tell lies when we are afraid, . . . afraid of what we don’t know, afraid of what others will think, afraid of what will be found out about us. But every time we tell a lie, the thing that we fear grows stronger.” — Tad Williams, Spoken by Dr. Morgenes, To Green Angel Tower (part of — Memory, Sorrow and Thorn)
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As I began today, so early, I had a moment of trepidation, thinking I might scare off my muse, but finding my mojo apparently made that a groundless fear, as I don’t seem to have found any lack of things to say…. More proof, I suppose, that I just can’t shut myself up….

Ah well, the path to sanity is littered with such misconceptions and folly, and rightly so…. I don’t need all these extra words floating around in my head, just looking for mischief to cause…. You take them, please….  🙂  I hope they bring you as much fun to read as they did for me to spew… er, write….

Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

dozer3

Exercising your legal option to forage….

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Ffolkes,
I remember what happened just recently when I tried to write pre-coffee, and since I promised not to allow it to happen again, hang on a second….. Oh, bless me, that’s good….. Okay, we’re good to go now…. Having consumed that first, life-giving sip, of “dark brown morning nectar”, (thanks, Doc….), I can now turn my mind to more productive matters…. Damn, that first sip is just so…… good! And the next few ain’t too shabby, either, as the world continues to come into sharper focus…..

Okay, now what? We are firmly ensconced in front of the keyboard, and the morning is bursting with promise…. Of course, we don’t necessarily know if that promise will be something we want, but, hey, you take what you can get, right? It’s always best to face the world with a touch of fatalism, especially when one’s subconscious mind wakes one up at 0533, with tears flowing down one’s cheeks, and no clue as to what the tears are for….. Most upsetting, without even going into the embarrassment factor….. I mean, how humiliating can it get? I’m 62 years old, a full-grown man, and my emotions are SUPPOSED to be under my control, not laying out there on my sleeve for the world to pluck at…..

Now, 20 minutes later, the tears are gone, but the fragility remains, along with the excessive amount of fluids in the head, that the body creates just to make things messier….. and that damn asshole Murphy KNOWS that I have that unreasonable fear of Kleenex, from that incident as a child, that I still can’t talk about much…. I think I told you about it….. You know, that time with the clown, the priest, the pony, and the convention of county sheriffs from around the US. It was a mess……  So, any who,  I’m stuck using TP to wipe my nose, which is really hard on it, as TP is NOT as soft as it claims…. Sometimes, this whole circus doesn’t seem worth getting out of bed for, you know?…..

But then I think about Pearls…. and I realize they are what make my life worthwhile…. The process of creating them each day has kept me sane now for going on two (or was it twelve?…) years, and I’m hoping it will stretch to include the next few months, until my SS comes through, so I don’t end up in a locked facility somewhere, babbling to myself and smiling at the butterflies only I can see…. They’re quite beautiful, you know…. Since most ffolkes, or folks, either, can’t see them, I tend to keep them to myself, though…. It’s just easier that way…. People can be so harsh…..

Now that I’ve reached the point of nearly pulling my covers completely off, I think it would be best if I just gave up trying to make any sense out of this intro, and get on with today’s dive…… Oh, look, over there!…. it’s Madonna! Oh, no, wait….. never mind, false alarm…. it was only Lady Gaga….. Oh well, I’ve got their autographs already, anyway…. Shall we Pearl?…..
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“Disco oil bussing will create a throbbing Naugahyde pipeline running  straight to the tropics from the rug producing regions and devalue the dollar!” — Zippy the Pinhead

So, a few days ago, the POTUS said that one of his priorities for his final term would be the issues surrounding climate change and global warming, to try to make an effort to halt the greenhouse effect, caused by the particulate emissions from billions of motor vehicles, that is threatening our very existence. He then proceeded to make it clear that he was just kidding, as he also indicated that he will most likely approve the new, massively-destructive-to-the-environment XP Pipeline, that is proposed to be built from the Arctic to the US, because it will help the economy by producing, get this, about 6000 jobs for Americans.

6000….. That’s it…. There are over 20,000,000 (twenty MILLION) people out of work in this country, so we’re talking about a percentage increase of…. hold on, gotta find a pencil & paper….. okay, that’s .0003%….. In English, three ten-thousandth of a percent. So, basically, we’re talking about giving in to the fat cats, who want the billions of dollars of profits they will make, at the expense of the environment, out of our pockets, by the completion of this project, for an increase that barely registers on the scale at all…. What I am wondering is just how many of those billions of dollars made their covert way into the POTUS’s re-election campaign treasury…..

The XP Pipeline project has been labeled as a disastrous idea by almost every environmental agency in the country, and the world; there is no doubt whatsoever that building it will adversely affect hundreds of species of animals, reducing their habitat, and will further add to the already massive amounts of pollution going into the air every moment. It will only provide a minuscule number of jobs, jobs that could easily be created by the enhancement of the alternative energy industry, or by instituting programs that would repair our national infrastructure of roads, dams, and other public facilities, all of which are in need of renovation.

No, instead, the POTUS, in a move that gives away his real agenda in office, has agreed to allow the fat cats to have their pipeline, in exchange for a reduction in the amount of static they give him on other issues, of less vital interest to the rest of us, but have a greater PR value. I am disappointed, to say the least, but not particularly surprised…. I do believe that Barry has a higher degree of morality than the average politician…. but, it MUST be remembered that he shares one important characteristic with every other politician…. he WANTED the job…. That kind of ambition is, in and of itself, an indication of a type of insanity common to our leadership, all the more dangerous because he APPEARS to be concerned for the people….. And, if he believes his own hype, that makes him the most dangerous of politicians…. remember what is said about the Road to Hell, and what it is paved with….

Regardless of that, how can anyone claim to be concerned about the rights of the little man, and still approve the Patriot Act, or whatever they’re calling it now, large parts of which are in direct opposition to the Bill of Rights….. He signed that off on his first day of office, in his FIRST term…. That act, to me, was a dead giveaway that all was not as it seemed, in his case…. Subsequent events have proven that my initial unease was, and is, well-deserved, as he continues to smile and play to the people’s desires on one hand, his left, while covertly screwing them by signing them into slavery with his right hand…..

“The only guarantee of the Bill of Rights which continues to have any force and effect is the one prohibiting quartering troops on citizens in time of peace.” — H. L. Mencken (1880-1956), 1951

Ah well, I don’t suppose I’m surprised by these revelations; there have been hints and clues to be found since his first term as POTUS, and probably before…. I am, however, pretty disappointed, because I had held out some hope that he was different, and that the changes he would try to get done would be of help to the common man, i.e., me, and the rest of us here in the trenches of reality….. I had hoped that he would NOT compromise with the !%, standing up for the people instead….

I should have known better….

“If doctors ever tell you that you’ve “flipped out,” don’t believe them, and just keep on doing what you were doing, because something tells me “the Man” is behind this.” — Deep Thoughts, by Jack Handey

“If I’ve offended anyone, my efforts have been rewarded.” — Smart Bee

“I had a hunch something like this would happen.” — Written on grave
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Democracy

Democracy will not come
Today, this year
Nor ever
Through compromise and fear.

I have as much right
As the other fellow has
To stand
On my two feet
And own the land.

I tire so of hearing people say,
Let things take their course.
Tomorrow is another day.
I do not need my freedom when I’m dead.
I cannot live on tomorrow’s bread.

Freedom
Is a strong seed
Planted
In a great need.

I live here, too.
I want freedom
Just as you.

~~ Langston Hughes
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” — I’d love to, but… there’s a disturbance in the Force.” — 13 of 101 Easy Ways To Say NO

I’m going to remember this one…. We all have times when we need an excuse to say no to someone who asks for our time, especially as once you give in to them, they won’t stop asking…. I would say “that’s human nature” but you might think I meant it as an excuse. Let me assure you, I don’t…. or rather, I do…. or,…. hell, I don’t know what I meant…. but, it ain’t no excuse….

People will take advantage of others at every opportunity, it seems, and I don’t regard that as an acceptable characteristic, and hate to encourage it by giving in to the emotional blackmail that almost everyone resorts to to try to motivate people into doing their will….

Robert Heinlein made what I consider to be the best summary of this issue when he wrote:

“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.)”

None of us likes to refuse what others ask of us, but you must learn to differentiate between altruism, which is an indulgence we can little afford, or exercising our personal choice, which may, or may not, meet the other person’s needs…. But, then, their needs aren’t really your problem, are they?…. Nope, they aren’t…. no matter how much, or how often, those others may try to get you to buy into it….. Or, in other words, you have to CHOOSE to feel guilty, ffolkes…. nobody can do that for you, no matter what they tell you….

So be it…. gigoid has spoken…..   🙂
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Well, it’s done, but that may be the best I can say about it…. In fact, I’m taking a chance here, and letting it go, in full appreciation of the risk I’m taking in doing so…. I could seriously damage whatever credibility I may have created with this one…. Oh well…. It’s a good thing I don’t do it for profit, or for fame…. sanity is good enough for me, and that’s all I hope for at the end of each Pearl….. Currently, I have to admit, the jury is still out…..   🙂

Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

dozer3

Sovereign protocols might polish that up….

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Ffolkes,
That was quite an experience…. I just sat here and wrote a poem, which you will find in the usual poetry section below….. It is without a doubt the most fluid piece of poetry I’ve ever written, as well as the fastest…. as I note below, it flowed out in about five minutes while I was waiting for my coffee this morning. Quite cathartic, and, if I do say so myself, just a little bit off the beaten path, in comparison with most of the stuff you will see here, or anywhere else…. My beliefs may not be the most crystal clear, but they are strongly held, and not lightly dismissed, as they tend to be based solely on facts (hence the title of the poem, which speaks to the iconic line from the show… “just the facts, ma’am”….)

Now, I know the poem isn’t main stream, by any stretch of the imagination…. and, if I were to look at it, (which I seem to be doing…) it isn’t designed, or likely, to convince a lot of folks to listen to me, as it goes against the grain of about, oh, 96% of the rest of humanity, and what they believe to be true about reality. You can call me controversial, you can call me a fool, you can call me Ishmael…. just don’t call me late for dinner, or call me to proselytize, because I HATE that….

I already know that what I’ve written there won’t be appreciated by a lot of folks, unless there are a few ffolkes out there who happen to agree, or at least are willing to hold two ideas in their heads at once without imploding, or needing to believe them both.

But, I’ve decided I don’t much care anymore…. at least, not to the extent of making me keep quiet. I’ve always  been hesitant to argue with religious folks, mainly because they tend to get so vehement in the defense of their dogma; I don’t like to be responsible for raising other folk’s blood pressure.

Now that I’m older, and beyond that sort of habit of avoidance, I don’t mind putting my own beliefs out there, so people can have something to talk about that will challenge their minds, instead of softening it into mush, as is the intent behind most dogma….. “Mental oatmeal’ is how I refer to dogma in my own head, because it’s chock full of delusional fiber that is a fast-acting stool softener for mental constipation, turning one’s mind right into soft crap….

“The more we are proud that the Bethlehem story is plain enough to be understood by the shepherds, and almost by the sheep, the more do we let ourselves go, in dark and gorgeous imaginative frescoes or pageants about the mystery and majesty of the Three Magian Kings.” — G. K. Chesterton, Christendom in Dublin, Ch.3

It seems that just trying to explain the poem is turning this into a mini-rant, and I’ve been trying to avoid that in the intro section, apparently without much success…. Ah well, what can I say? Ranting seems to just come naturally these days, and it certainly helps to keep the word count up…. It also seems to make the intro section grow into something more than a mere introduction each day, instead, becoming a wild growth of abundant verbiage that threatens to take over the entire blog….. and no weed-whacker in sight….

Well, you know what this means, don’t you? It means that I can no longer stretch out this section, and have to get to work… Sheesh, almost an hour, just to begin… oh well, I got a poem out of it, and even though it isn’t one that will win any literary prizes, it was enough to provide me with a bucket full of material to get started today…. I’ll take it…. Shall we Pearl?…..

From vulgar bounds with brave disorder part,
And snatch a grace beyond the reach of art.

— Alexander Pope (1688-1744) — Essay on Criticism, Part i, Line 152
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“Yow!  I want to mail a bronzed artichoke to Nicaragua!” — Zippy the Pinhead

As previously noted, we like our nonsense around here…. This one from Zippy is particularly nonsensical, and will serve nicely as a segue into a discussion of the value there is in engaging in nonsensical behavior on occasion. A lot of folks, and even some ffolkes, might think there isn’t a lot to say on the subject, but, they don’t know me, do they? Having spent much of the last two years honing that very skill, to wit: propounding at length on subjects of little meaning, I think we can turn this into quite a nice little pearl, one that will shine even in the dark…. or maybe not… Why don’t we just go ahead, and see what happens, eh?….

Now, to begin, let me point out that the concept of nonsense, by the structure of the word itself, gives us a clue as to where its value lies… it is composed of two parts, “non” a prefix indicating negative state, and “sense”, in this form meaning perception, or ordered perception, more accurately (it makes good sense….). This tells us that the word ‘nonsense’, as the direct antonym for ‘sense’, supplies the balance that the universe demands from every part of its makeup….

“As a professional humorist, I often get letters from readers who are interested in the basic nature of humor.  “What kind of a sick perverted disgusting person are you,” these letters typically ask, “that you make jokes about setting fire to a goat?” … — Dave Barry, “Why Humor is Funny”

Everything in the universe exists in duality, as we have explored previously; this duality is directly related to our own set of perceptive abilities, which operate solely by noting the presence or absence of certain forms of matter, or energy manifestation (light, sound, etc….) We see because our eyes note the presence and absence of light waves. We hear the moments of sound between the moments of silence…. It all exists in duality, and that is how we perceive it, for that is what gives the universe its balance, and allows it to produce life, and matter, and all that we are a part of in this grand landscape of wonder….

But, the human mind is subtle, and recognizes the subtlety of the universe…. Thus, when we are confronted with seriousness for a long period of time, our nature demands something as balance, and we slip over into the nonsense mode in the privacy of our minds, to provide some relief from the somber nature of much of what is created by the hand of Man…. Goodness knows, after I am forced, or trapped, into listening to the prattling of fools about laws, or dogma, or some such asinine bureaucratic folderol, a bit of Zippy, or Wacko, or Pooh’s evil twin can always make me smile, and get through the boredom with greater equanimity….. or, as much as I ever can summon in those situations…..

“A little nonsense now and then,
is cherished by the wisest men.”

— Willie Wonka

Willie knew this little fact about the universe well, thanks to Roald Dahl, whom we can thank for his contribution to literature of quite a bit of nonsense, written with great style and verve, and not a little sarcasm. This little couplet springs up in my mind on many occasions when I am confronted by some piece of societal sobriety, and reminds me to take what I’m seeing or hearing with a big dose of salt, and maybe some Cholula’s hot sauce to spice it up. What the hell, it can’t hurt…. Can it? You tell me…..

“SANTA CLAUS comes down a FIRE ESCAPE wearing bright  blue LEG WARMERS..  He scrubs the POPE with a mild  soap or detergent for 15 minutes, starring JANE FONDA!! — Zippy the Pinhead
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Before reading the following, I must ask anyone with strong religious faith to put on their thinking caps, turn off their sense of outrage, and turn up their tolerance a few notches….. It probably isn’t a justification, but as explanation, let me note that I wrote this in approximately five minutes this morning, while waiting for the coffee to finish brewing…. So, take it with a grain or two of salt, as it was created pre-consumption of life’s blood, and I can’t speak for it, other than to say it is mine…. and, as far as I can see, it’s consistent, if a bit grumpy….

Joe Friday’s lament

Life is short, and though I’m odd, they say
it really doesn’t bother me
to realize there is no God, per se.

Though other folks will disagree
and tell me I’m wrong
I won’t believe it, with naught to see.

Liars called padre tell me, have humility,
and do as the authorities say,
then fondle little boys with facility.

They also tell me to share the wealth
and give them a 10% tithe
so they don’t have get it by stealth.

So spare me the delusions, please
don’t bother with such a tale;
I’m nobody that needs such a tease.

Keep your fantasies under your hat
and out of my face;
I don’t need them, they’ll make me fat….. headed.

~~ gigoid
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I started the day with oddness, so it seems appropriate to keep on the path I’ve chosen for the day…. The following pearls all dropped into my lap, so to speak, as I cruised through Smart Bee this morning…. As is my wont, I allowed my subconscious to choose which ones I should keep, and these five are what it picked…. For the life of me, I cannot see very much that ties it all together into a single idea, but, hey, I’m just the driver here…. I suppose, all in all, it could be considered another comment on oddness, or at least, learning to live in that state comfortably….

“The public will believe anything, so long as it is not founded on truth.” — Edith Sitwell

“The First Amendment does not say that there is freedom of expression provided the talk is not `dangerous’. It does not say that there is freedom of expression provided the utterance has no tendency to subvert. It does not put free speech and freedom of the press in the category of housing, sanitation, hours of work, factory conditions, and the like, and make it subject to regulation for the public good. Nor does it permit legislative restraint of freedom of expression so long as the regulation does not offend due process. All notions of regulation or restraint by government are absent from the First Amendment. For it says in words that are unambiguous, `Congress shall make no law… abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press.'” — Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas, 1958

“Als das Kind noch Kind war, gab es diese Fragen: Warum bin ich mich, und warum nicht dich?  Warum bin ich hier, und warum nicht dort? — Rainer Maria Rilke
(“When the child was a child, there were these questions: Why am I me, and why not you? Why am I here, and why not there?”)

“Morality is simply the attitude we adopt to people we personally dislike.” — Oscar Wilde

“Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we’re here we should dance.” — Very Smart Bee

Now, THAT is a sentiment I can get behind…. even if I have to push….
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Most days here on ECR, I would, at this point, comment on the day’s work…. Today has already proved to be odd in both structure and content, so I’m not going to bother with any critique…. I’ve read it through for typos and basic sense, but can’t quite grasp any piece of it solidly enough to begin to analyze it…. but, that might just be my normal state of confusion at this point in the day.

Whichever the case may be, I’m declaring it done, as I can’t see myself trying to do it over at this point…. Just as well, I suppose…. I’m going to toss it out there and see what happens, and hope that my strangeness isn’t so strong as to drive anyone away permanently…. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

dozer3

Mark your place with a curlicue…..

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5

Ffolkes,
These first moments of the day after arising can be a serene, comforting time, on those wonderful mornings when Murphy is occupied elsewhere. There is always such a fine feeling of potential, one of promise and hope. Then, naturally, I open my eyes to reality, and depression crashes back down, filling the world with darkness and despair….

Well, make up my damn mind, would you?…. Which is it, promising and full of hope, or dark and despairing? You can’t have it both ways, not in this house…. although, come to think of it, that might be a totally awesome experience, once…. To feel such completely opposite ranges of feeling at the same time…. it might be entertaining, for a moment or so anyway….

Nah, probably not…. more likely it would just be confusing, as if we don’t have enough in life to do that for us….. Oh well, it was a thought….. I get those now and again, but try not to let them get too messy, and I certainly wouldn’t allow one to drip all over the client’s chair; that one time was an anomaly, I swear…..

Ah hell, who am I trying to kid? We haven’t had a real client in here for ages, and the chair we use for them wouldn’t hold up anyone more than 90 lbs., anyway, so I’d most likely steer them into walking outside, rather than letting them sit down in the deathtrap…. We DO take customer service seriously, even if we don’t have many customers….

Not only do we not have many customers, we have no business. None….. it’s all just another plot device, thrown in by me in a moment of panic, to get me further down the page. It is working okay in that respect, but I don’t think this morning’s intro is going to win many literary prizes for eloquence, or elegance…. I suppose I could use it as a teaching tool, to show how NOT to write….

Of, course, then I’d have to find students, and set up a classroom, find some chalk, and a chalkboard, and….. nope, too much hassle. I’ll just let it lie, like a sleeping dog, or a politician, and we’ll move on to the next stage of this nonsense, whatever that may turn out to be…. It’s still a mystery at this point, as your guess is as good as mine as to where to take this….

Since where I took it worked, I won’t bother to detail the direction, but will merely accept the change without objection, and move on…. And, since it DID work, at least in one sense (all that is required by law….), I can legally get on with the rest of today’s effort without having to concern myself with finding a lawyer to save my ass. It’s always a good thing to avoid litigation when possible, yes? Yes…. Shall we Pearl?…..
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“Trust your hunches.  They’re usually based on facts filed away just below the conscious level.” — Dr. Joyce Brothers

I find this to be a fascinating statement, from a person many of today’s youth won’t recognize as a celebrity. Dr. Joyce, as we called her when I was young, was a celebrity from back in the 1950’s and 60’s, who became famous at first as a prodigy child contestant on a quiz show, The $64,000 Question; she later found celebrity as a radio and TV talk show hostess, and a syndicated newspaper column, answering questions about relationships, love, and life in general. She had a calm, friendly, confident manner that was easy for people to accept, and her brilliant mind gave her answers a certain depth and cachet that otherwise would have been lost, had she been less intelligent, or less charismatic…..

What I find to be interesting here is her reliance on the subconscious mind for accurate data resolution and interpretation, and her confidence in proposing that people explore that connection. I was around at the time, and the world was NOT in a place, philosophically speaking, where the reliance on subconscious activities was considered to be a mainstream belief. In fact, it almost put her in the category of mystics and clairvoyants, as far as  established society was concerned….. To many, she might have well just said that we should all become witches….

I suppose what helped in the long run toward acceptance of this kind of thinking  was her documented genius, that gave what she said a certain validity. In addition, she was at her most popular right at the time when society itself was going through some severe upheaval, during the late 50’s and early to late 60’s, so her ideas found more acceptance among the young, then spread to the rest of the culture as the Cultural Revolution went on, and society became more open to such free-wheeling philosophies.

Another effect of that time, that many people lose sight of, is the polarization that occurred in society, as the two intrinsically opposite philosophies, of liberalism and conservatism (as they are understood today….), became the two camps of ideology that would engage in a struggle for control of the government, and society, for the next 60 years, right up to today….. It’s a struggle between two ways of looking at life, and neither one is aware of being under the control of a third party, one that remains in the shadows, unseen and unheard, expect at their own command…..

Okay, here is where those of you who don’t buy into the conspiracy theory of life can skip on to the next section… to your own peril, but, hey, to each his own, right?….. I’m not particularly paranoid about such things as conspiracy; most of the time I think the things the ffolkes who believe in them see, that support their ideas, are seeing examples of human stupidity, rather than conspiracy. But, I am also a scientist, FIRST, and there is just too much evidence that supports the idea that there is a small percentage of humanity that controls the majority of resources (ie, food, land, money, armaments…), and as a consequence, have far more influence and control over the rest of us than is either just, or ethical.

This small group of mega-rich fanatical egotists believe that, because they can, they have the right to hoard all of those resources for themselves, and have the right to determine who should have any access to them. They believe this because they are allowed to do so, having grabbed all the controls (to wit: the guns and money….) long ago, and have arranged matters so that the great bulk of society is not only under their control, but is unaware of being in that position….

To tie this all together for y’all, let me say this…. I have a hunch that this is true. I don’t always have evidence that I can point to that is obviously definitive in the direction of proof of that assertion, but, if what Dr. Joyce tells us is true, my subconscious mind is aware of the facts, and can show me where to find them, if needed. That hunch tells me that, YES, there are a small group of assholes who are in control of society, for their own benefit, and they don’t give a fuck about the rest of humanity…. and there is evidence to support this hunch, even if it isn’t right out in the open where everyone can see it easily.

As yet, I don’t have any viable suggestions about how to go about kicking these punks to the curb; all I know is that we need to do so, and soon, before they kill all of us with their own brand of stupidity…. This isn’t to say they are altogether stupid, or that it is their primary defining characteristic…. but, they are human, and as such are subject to Murphy and his natural law…. So, I suppose it is a matter of watching for the right moment to catch them just at that instant when their own humanity will bring them down….. and hoping that moment comes soon…..

“Do you like “TENDER VITTLES”??” — Zippy the Pinhead
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Of late, I’ve been writing quite a bit on aging, and it’s effect on me…  an occupational hazard, I suppose, for us retirees. Last night, I was reading some WordPress blogs, and was introduced to this Australian contemporary poet, David Lewis Paget. In looking through his poems on PoemHunter.com, I found this one, which speaks very eloquently of this period of life, and beyond, and I’m happy to include it here as part of the ongoing discussion…. It’s a bit long, but worth it…. Enjoy!….

Age Rage

I was wandering through the Nursing Home
In the town of Morton Rise,
Seeking an old and weathered face
That I’d known in another guise,
For Richard Spratt was my father’s friend
That I hadn’t seen for years,
I was going to let him know his friend
Had taken a turn for the worse.

The eyes that stared from the armchairs there
Were blank, and devoid of pain,
They’d taken the pills that dulled them down
So they wouldn’t be restrained,
The nurses treated them all as fools
This gross humanity,
Whose only sin was they’d given in
To age, and infirmity.

It was all so very depressing, I
Imagined my future there,
Staring in immobility
From the prison of one of their chairs,
Waiting my turn to be spoon-fed
By a very impatient nurse,
Who shovelled the food all over my chin
As I sat, and inwardly cursed.

I wandered the home there, room by room
In search of his friendly face,
This Richard Spratt in a cricketer’s hat
I remembered from Ambergate,
He’d batted a decent fifty, while
My father polished the ball,
And took five wickets alone that day
In his bowling, over all.

It was nigh on forty years before
That I’d watched them play as a child,
Out on the green at Ambergate
With the weather, warm and mild,
But the years dismay as they pass away
And my father grew so old,
Now he lay in bed in a kind of dread
As the bell of his lifetime tolled.

I said that I’d find his friend for him
And let him know, at the last,
That he was remembered, thick and thin
For a friendship, forged in the past,
There were days when they both had sunny skies
And met each day with a grin,
But time drew shrouds like storm-filled clouds
And the end was looking grim.

I heard a shout from a private room
And went to investigate,
Quite a commotion in the gloom,
I hoped I wasn’t too late,
And there was a nurse stood over him
In a wheelchair, Richard Spratt,
He’d thrown his meds all over the room
And sat in his cricketer’s hat.

‘You know what to do with your pills, you witch, ‘
He shouted, and turned to see
Just who was stood in the doorway, I
Was grinning from ear to ear,
‘Well I’ll be… You can get out of here! ‘
He said to the wayward nurse,
Who said, ‘If you’re going to be like that…’
And left the room, with a curse.

I told the news of my father then
And I swear, he sat and cried,
Just a couple of tears escaped
That he hid, he still had pride,
‘Life is a trail of sorrow, son,
But we’re all on the same long train,
Your dad and I in the tunnel, while
Your carriage is still on the plain.’

‘What do you value of life the most? ‘
I saw the pain in his eyes,
‘Youth was that great and precious thing
That with age, you realise!
I’d give it all for an hour to spend
In the glow of my lady’s eyes,
The touch of her skin and a hint of sin
But the thing that we love, it dies! ‘

‘I’ve often thought of those balmy days
On the green in our cricket whites,
And think I hear the crack of the ball
On the willow of sweet delight,
I remember your father’s terse ‘Howzat! ‘
When he scattered another’s bails,
Now I sit in this prisoning wheelchair, here
And all I can hear are wails.’

‘Wails from the ones who want to die,
Wails that they want to live,
The future is lost to the best of us
We have but the past to give.
You’d like to know how I feel right now,
Like a leopard, caught in a cage,
If only I could be young once more…
But all that I feel is rage!’

David Lewis Paget

4 October 2012
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“The wise man’s eyes are in his head; but the fool walketh in darkness: and I myself perceived also that one event happeneth to them all. Then said I in my heart, As it happeneth to the fool so it happeneth even to me; and why was I then more wise?  Then I said in my heart, that this is also vanity. For there is no remembrance of the wise more than of the fool for ever; seeing that which now is in the days to come shall all be forgotten.  And how dieth the wise man?  As the fool.” — Ecclesiastes 2:14-16

To look at this, one would tend to be persuaded of its veracity, or at least of its intention to be so. The latter part is the more accurate assessment, because, in truth, this is a complete and utter lie, a lie that I consider to be one of the most egregious of those told by the fanatics who wrote most of the Bible….. “And how dieth the wise man? As a fool.”  What a crock of shit!

Think about this for just a second, okay?…. A wise man approaches his death with equanimity and dignity, arranging matters so that he dies having lived a life filled with the joy of loving, and with compassion for his fellows. The fool dies badly, fearing what comes after, but more afraid to continue living in misery and fear….. Those are very simple observations, based on reality, and what I’ve observed of it in my time.

Vanity isn’t ALWAYS misplaced, you know, as long as it is not embraced as a lifestyle, but rather acknowledged as an amusing form of self-love, one that can serve to motivate toward improvement. Only when assumed as a faith, producing a sense of entitlement based on unreal expectations, does it become ill-conceived, and ugly. (Gee, and doesn’t that sound more like those who preach against vanity, with their sense of entitlement as one of God’s children?….)

It is much the same as with any human characteristic, or emotional state; moderation is the key to handling them with grace and common sense. When people make too much of ANY of their emotions, or their personal characteristics, they tend to go overboard, and act without restraint to achieve their wants…. SIGH…. In this way, as in many, most people are like children, with no control over their own inner self as yet….

But, given their way, the men (very, very few women fall so deeply into the religious BS to become preachers/priests) who want to control the rest of humanity through religion would have us remain children, at least in our emotional responses…. Children are much easier to control than adults, as they are conditioned to accept whatever they’re told by an adult…. If a person manages to get to adulthood without being so conditioned, well, they can kiss that constituent goodbye, because very few of us ever return after becoming aware of how the church is fucking with us…..

Bah, humbug…. I’m a bit worked up now, and it’s getting hard to organize my thoughts enough to keep this on a logical track. I just get so mad, when I think about all these centuries that humanity has wasted under the influence of all those who act for their own benefit, and screw the rest of us. I get SO angry, it takes all of my will to keep from getting up from my chair, grabbing some weapons, and going out to hunt…..

But, then I would have to give up my own philosophy, because, who will play God? If I go out and start eliminating those whom I believe need to be absent from reality, for the betterment of all, then I am making myself into God…. which kind of goes against all I believe. I hate them, those assholes, but, killing is THEIR method of choice for assuming or maintaining the status quo, and really doesn’t fit in with my own choices. I guess I’m just going to have to keep looking for the right way to bring their chicanery out where all can see it, and make fun of it enough to make it go away….

Not the most logical, or strategically or tactically practical plan I’ve come up with, but, for now, it’s the best I’ve got…. If y’all have any ideas, I’d be interested, for sure… We need to figure out some way to boot their asses out the door, before it’s too late…. though I suspect that moment may have passed yesterday…..

“So far as I can remember, there is not one word in the Gospels in praise of intelligence.” — Bertrand Russell
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I’m at a loss for words to express how this one came out…. After re-reading it, I’m almost impressed. Allowing subconscious control works better than I had imagined, I’d say…. In future posts, we’ll see if we can’t expand that little capability, and see where it takes us…. For now, I’m probably better off to bid thee adieu for today, and let the chips fall where they may…..  Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

dozer3

Happy ever after as a plot device….

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Ffolkes,
While it is useful for intimidating police, and keeping relatives at an acceptable distance, insanity can be… well, insane, to try to cope with on a regular basis. This characteristic is one of the many that keeps me from just falling into its warm embrace permanently. Once I give in and let meself go, I’m fairly certain I won’t be back, not for many a day, as the song goes….. I’m pretty sure it would be too comfortable…..

In fact, having spent a fair amount of time gracing the company of those who totally give up trying to be normal, those who instead spend their time doing exactly what they are hoping will feel the best, given their already confused state of mind, I KNOW it is more comfortable than anywhere sanity can go.

There is no pressure to be right, no pressure to not be wrong, and those are no small things, in a world that places premium importance on them. The insane, by the nature of their condition, and because of what others think they know of it, are possibly the happiest people in the world, as they don’t have to live up to any of the standards the rest of society is so invested in….

Why, you may ask, would anyone wish to be sane, in that case? That is a good question, not one I can answer without ranting, at least a bit, and I promised I wouldn’t do that in the intro any more. Well, it wasn’t a promise, just an intent, but, hey, almost the same, and I’m sure nobody else wants a rant so early in the day, either, so, back off….

Sanity, as practiced by most of those in society, is not a very comfortable, or easy, state in which to be for long, requiring as it does constant alertness, and regular maintenance, to keep it from falling apart under the daily assaults by Reality, and the kind attention of Murphy and his ilk…..

Insanity, on the other hand, has no stress, no pressure, and no responsibility; whatever one decides to do, no matter how outrageous, or out of touch with the real world it may be, is okay, and allowed. No limits are applicable, so the insane are free to let their imagination have free rein, and the results are incredible, to say the least…. Not always comprehensible, or easy to watch, or to deal with, but incredible, for sure… No sane person will ever be able to create art as powerful as a person whose grip on reality is less firm as their own, as they tend to set limits for themselves, as needed to retain that sanity…. thus shutting out that entire realm of imaginative possibility…

So, next time you have to cope with reality, consider how easy it would be to just let go, and not worry about whether what you are doing is the right thing…. It may not keep you from going down that road, but it may help you find a reason to stay on the road to sanity…. and, in the best-case-scenario, maybe, just maybe, you can learn to let that side out now and again, to find out what there may be there, that can be brought into the world, to share the beauty, or the wisdom, or the love that they know, in a universe with no limits… Remember, all the nicest ffolkes in the world are just a little bit tetched, as my father used to say….

But, for now, I think it’s time to draw this intro to a close, before it assumes epic proportions…. Shall we Pearl?…..
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“Reality can be hazardous to your health.” — Smart Bee

This one is probably not a surprise, nor is it something that is rare, or uncommonly known. Hell, it only takes a couple of years of living on this planet before this knowledge becomes second nature to us, and we know it almost instinctively. This, I think, is part of why it is always a surprise to us how the process of growing older is much more difficult than we imagined…. It is also why we always end up, at one point or another, saying to ourselves, “Why the hell didn’t anyone tell me this?” It may not be a conspiracy, but the end result is the same, because nobody is talking, and if they had any compassion, they would be….

Your guess as to why this is would be as good as mine, and I’m not sure it matters; what matters is that they don’t, and it isn’t included in any of the manuals we receive about Life and How to Live…. Actually, I don’t know about y’all, but my manuals were all lost in the mail, and I never got any of them… We WERE supposed to get them right? I mean, there is a God, by all reports from the rest of society, and according to dogma and stuff, we’re His responsibility, right? So, where’s my manual?…. Where is yours?….

Don’t try to tell me you’re buying into the Bible as the manual? Have you ever read that thing? It is the most inconsistent, poorly written, manipulative, and just plain most erroneous piece of literature I ever tried to plow my way through… Hell, the first chapter is complete science fiction, or more accurately, fantasy, and it goes downhill from there, in terms of what is believable…. I guess, even if all of the hundreds of different authors WERE connected in spirit, and only channeling the Word of God, it still has to all be based on events that have some basis in reality, or it just isn’t going to hold together, logically, or consistently…. There just isn’t any possible way to get a correct answer when the basis of an argument is false… The principle of GIGO trumps delusional assumptions, at least in the real world….

“The Bible is true this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” — Jordan Henderson

Okay, so if there aren’t any manuals, and the only folks out there offering to help are those who are doing so out of their own desire to control other folks, then how do we learn to accept all the hardships that come with growing older? Well, let’s see…. As I sit and consider that question, it keeps growing larger in scope, and the number of potential answers approaches infinity, so, I guess I need to narrow the focus a bit…. Hmm, break time…. gotta cogitate on this one….

“Men spend their lives in anticipations, in determining to be vastly happy at some period when they have time.  But the present time has one advantage over every other – it is our own.  Past opportunities are gone, future have not come.  We may lay in a stock of pleasures, as we would lay in a stock of wine; but if we defer the tasting of them too long, we shall find that both are soured by age.” — C. C. Colton

Okay, that isn’t a bad insight, all in all…. but, it doesn’t quite fill the bill for our discussion, for while it acknowledges the power of aging, it doesn’t offer any solutions, or advice, other than in a passive, negative sense…. More, please….

“Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open.” — J.K. Rowling, The Beginning, — Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, 2000, — spoken by the character Albus Dumbledore

Hmm… a clue, I think, of the direction we are seeking to find…. a bit more fine tuning, I think….

“Bear, do not blame, what cannot be changed.” — Publius Syrus

Another clue…. we must be on the right track….

“Never give an inch!” — Smart Bee

Okay, we’re almost there, cuz the pearls are getting shorter, and deeper, always a good sign….

“I’m not a lawyer, but I play one on the guitar.” — Smart Bee

Well, see, I told you…. the perfect ending to a discussion of Reality, and how we deal with it over time….. In other words, ffolkes, you can’t really win, in the sense for which we are seeking to find a reasonable justification… The game is rigged, and it’s the only one in town…. But, it also implies that we can still walk away a winner, we just have to change the rules in our own minds….

In short, ffolkes, we’re on our own out here in Reality, and aging can either be a burden to bear, or an advantage to take…. It’s all up to us, ultimately, and we not only shouldn’t worry about whether or not there is anyone who can relieve us of this responsibility, but should understand that the act of doing so only makes the issue more difficult….

So, buck up, ffolkes…. Yes, Life gets tough, but, if we are smart, we can get tougher….

“I love ROCK ‘N ROLL!  I memorized the all WORDS to “WIPE-OUT” in 1965!!” — Zippy the Pinhead
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Since I’m just that kind of guy, and I don’t have one of my own ready to bleed out, here’s a two-fer from Master Yeats, with a prologue….  Enjoy!  🙂

“No poems can please nor live long which are written by water-drinkers.” — Horace (65-8 B.C.)

A Drinking Song

WINE comes in at the mouth
And love comes in at the eye;
That’s all we shall know for truth
Before we grow old and die.
I lift the glass to my mouth,
I look at you, and I sigh.

William Butler Yeats

A Drunken Man’s Praise Of Sobriety

COME swish around, my pretty punk,
And keep me dancing still
That I may stay a sober man
Although I drink my fill.

Sobriety is a jewel
That I do much adore;
And therefore keep me dancing
Though drunkards lie and snore.
O mind your feet, O mind your feet,
Keep dancing like a wave,
And under every dancer
A dead man in his grave.
No ups and downs, my pretty,
A mermaid, not a punk;
A drunkard is a dead man,
And all dead men are drunk.

William Butler Yeats
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“In the words of Shankarachaya, “All impossible things can be made possible save the bringing of the fool’s mind to the point of truth.”” — Hazrat Inayat Khan (Sufi writer)

Sufi is a philosophy whose written words are not very familiar to me, as I’ve never made a study of them, beyond a superficial one, to get a gauge of its scope. I like this, though, and it says a lot to me that the author was able to independently come to a conclusion that is common to many other philosophies I admire, to wit: “Against stupidity, the gods themselves contend in vain.” It is a sentiment that, in a way, defines humanity, while at the same time, points out the fly in the ointment, so to speak….

Our minds, given the power of imagination, are our strength, our greatest tool in the fight for survival in this universe; they are also our greatest frailty, our Achilles heel, as it were. Imagination can show us how to survive, and live; it can also makes us afraid for no reason, other than our own ignorance. Our intelligence is our greatest ally, and our worst enemy…. and it is this contradiction that keeps us from achieving that serenity in society that is possible on an individual basis…..

You see, there are way too many unscrupulous people who DO know how to use their imaginations, to their OWN advantage, who are in positions of influence in society, and they are able to manipulate the vast numbers of people who choose to allow ignorance to rule their existence, all of whom would rather die than try to think their way out of a problem. These “fools” are controlled very easily, as they actually prefer to not have to use what sits on their shoulders for anything other than passing comestibles to their stomachs, and will believe pretty much anything told to them, as long as it is on TV…..

Here on this blog, I rail at this segment of humanity quite regularly, not that it does much to alter the situation. But, it is all I can do at the moment, so I keep on shouting into the wind, and preaching to the choir, because, naturally, the ffolkes who end up coming here are generally those who are already well-practiced at using their minds, or at least, not giving in to the urge to ignore reality. But, someday, perhaps, if and when I ever get off my ass to go try to find an agent, or a publisher, more folks will hear my plaintive cries for sanity, and it may actually have some kind of positive effect on matters…

What the hell, everybody’s gotta have a dream, right? Right…. well, that’s mine….. If I can bring some truth into the world, and spread it around where it can do some good, well, I can die a happy man, because that’s about all one can expect from this cold, hard universe… and it’s enough….

“Baby, after considerable thought I’ve reached the conclusion that the only conceivable legitimate answer to the Universe as constituted is a peal of hysterical laughter.” — Keith Laumer, _Night of Delusions_
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It took some patience, but that final pearl came through just in time, and perfectly closed the third section, with a statement with which I can wholeheartedly agree…. All in all, today’s effort isn’t too shabby, so we’re letting it go as is, sans critical judgment, though proofed and polished as best I may…. which means there is, no doubt, at least one hidden typo, that I won’t notice until it is posted…. Ah well, that’s life in the slow lane, I guess….  Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

dozer3

Professional bibliographers needed for fiesta….

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Ffolkes,
Forgetting, even for a moment, that I am “blessed”, is a dangerous pastime. I realize there is, ostensibly, a certain panache attached to someone who is singled out by natural icons for special attention and celebrity, but I’d give my right arm and three toes to have been passed over by Murphy for this particular honor. The fuckface just won’t leave me alone, and I’m getting damn sick of it, let me tell you…. and, no, I don’t think ‘fuckface’  is too harsh, or too vulgar, in this instance….. the asshole……

Okay, okay, I’ll calm down, and stop the vulgarity, at least for the nonce….. (I love those old-fashioned words…) It’s just so bloody frustrating to try to accomplish anything with him hanging about, sticking out his foot, or just pointing and laughing, to distract and annoy me. You’d think that he’d been hired by the corporate masters to slow me down in my ranting, but, with my pitiful following, I can’t see why they’d waste the money on hiring the best, when they could probably fuss with me much more cheaply…. Hell, all they’d have to do is continue to have SS dance and delay my case even more than they already have done; it would piss me off royally, more than I already am, and certainly affect my ability to write….

Of course, they’ll never stop me entirely, not as long as I have a breath, and connection to the internet; no way I’m going to shut up now. As I’ve said previously, I spent about 60 years keeping my mouth shut about all this stuff, to avoid controversy, and I’m done with that now. In fact, the more controversy, the better, to my mind, as it can only lead to more people hearing about what I’m saying, and more people becoming disenchanted with the PTB, and the BRC…. which is my ultimate goal…..

It will be an interesting matter, actually, to see what will happen…. Should I gain enough followers for my blog to become influential in society, how much would be allowed before they came to shut me down?….. I guarantee, my words will be dangerous enough to them to prompt a response; the question is how much danger they’re willing to endure….

Ah well, I can only hope for that kind of influence; it isn’t going to happen tonight, nor will it happen tomorrow…. But, I’ll keep on keepin’ on, and I’ll keep on taking shots at the entrenched assholes who are killing us, until it either does some good, or I am unable, for whatever reason, to keep writing…. Any such reason would be most likely provided by the BRC and PTB, as I can’t think of anything I might do that would be able to do that, at least, not without enemy action….

It’s all moot at this point, but, hey, once again, just blathering about it has filled up the intro section… It sort of happened on the sly today, as I didn’t even notice until just now that we were approaching enough bulk to consider it a wrap…. I guess I’ll take it…. It isn’t the most thrilling, or the most gripping introduction I’ve seen, or written, for that matter, but, like the Pearls themselves, it grows more attractive as it approaches completion…. I’m a sucker for something that is “done”….. Besides, I’m getting a bit bored with this one, so…. Shall we Pearl?…..
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“I can handle reality in small doses, but as a lifestyle it’s much too confining.” — Lily Tomlin

This is one of many statements of its type, some from Miss Lily, some from other comedians and social philosophers, all of whom are special to me…. They are special because they poke fun at society in the mildest way, but with clarity that is belied by their apparent simplicity and obvious humor. It is easy for a lot of folks to dismiss little gems like this, as being unimportant, or less than serious, just because it speaks with tongue in cheek… Nothing could be further from the truth, as this statement is absolute gospel to a large percentage of the adult population of this country….

“Reality is for those people who can’t handle drugs.” — George Carlin
(My attribution here might be incorrect, but, George inspired the line, if he didn’t write it himself….)

Here is another line from the revolution that happened back in the 60’s and 70’s, and it points up a very definitive difference between those folks who spend their time in the mainstream of society, and those who exist at the extremes, in this case, in what is generally conceived to be on the Left end of the scale…. Those who inhabit the other end of the political spectrum tend to rely on alcohol to blunt the effects of Reality on the brain, rather than what are dismissed by them as recreational drugs, such as marijuana, psilocybin, mescaline, etc.  In some ways, you can get a good idea of the philosophies themselves by looking at how they approach the subject of drugs and alcohol, and by the differing methods of enhancing life with them….

Those who rely on alcohol are those who prefer to NOT know the truth, about anything. It seems to me that the physical effects of alcohol parallel exactly the way these folks look at life…. When under the influence of alcohol, one’s senses are depressed, and it is much harder to see the truth than at other times…. and that is the way they like it…. With consumption of alcohol, the hearing decreases, judgment is impaired, vision blurs, sense of touch is lessened, and fine muscle control is compromised, pretty much in that order of occurrence. It is the same each time, but with continued regular consumption, a certain tolerance is developed, a tolerance that slightly mitigates the effects, but certainly does not keep them from happening.

Those who use drugs to enhance or adjust their view don’t deny the truth, but they want it to be all prettied up for them in some way, so it isn’t so harsh and ugly…. Most of the effects of the drugs are in the mind, with some notable exceptions;  the perceptions of all the senses are not depressed, but altered in some way, usually personal to the user, in physical response to the chemical in the drug that causes the cognitive alterations.  Either way, whether with drugs, or with alcohol, perception of the truth is what ultimately suffers, which is what the proponents of both ends of the spectrum tend to forget, or deny….

“Have you ever wondered if taxation without representation was cheaper?” — Smart Bee

I have…. It is and it isn’t, and we are witnessing that phenomenon right now….. This may be why many people have such a hard time with reality; when one becomes aware of just how screwed up things are, and how much lying, cheating, and stealing is going on right before our eyes, it is rather daunting to take in all at once, so people do as they’ve always done, and slip into massive denial of the truth, preferring to just ignore the evidence that is slapping them upside the head….

One time, I actually sat down to do the math on the above question, and what I found was surprising…. Neither way works…. There just isn’t any logical way to govern people, and make it either profitable, or even reasonably cheap…. Well, not as long as the lying, cheating, and stealing is part of the equation, anyway….

“The word “dog” does not bite,” — William James

Boy, if that isn’t the truth…. but, try to convince the general public of that….. It is one of the basic issues to be considered when speaking to the public, one that the BRC and PTB members all know very well, as it is their chief weapon in controlling the populace…. Most folks don’t think…. when they do, it causes them pain, so they tend to let someone else do it for them, and just go along in blissful ignorance, accepting whatever they’re told without a clue. They never consider that the word itself is not the thing it describes; even worse, they don’t care to know….. It is the simplest thing in the world for the Beloved Ruling Class to fool the public, because they actively participate, with apparent glee, in their own debasement….

“As a matter of cold fact, a lot of people have no use for you because they can’t use you.”  — Smart Bee

Sometimes, I’m not sure which disgusts me more…. the callous disregard for others that is the defining characteristic of all politicians and preachers, or the deliberately blind, fawning ignorance of those who refuse to become fully human, use their minds, and take responsibility for their own life…. To my way of thinking, both are deserving of every bit of trouble that reality can give them, just for their intransigence…. otherwise known as rampant stubbornness, or more simply, massive stupidity….

I’m being deliberately offensive this morning, as I’m sick and tired of how the general public refuses to wake up and smell the gunpowder, and I don’t really care if it hurts someone’s feelings. Anyone who disagrees with my assessment is free to offer up their own take on the matter, and I’ll give it equal time for discussion…. but, if what I’ve said hurts feelings, then apparently what I’ve said strikes just a little too close to the truth for comfort, and I would suggest that the person take a look at that before setting themselves up for embarrassment, by trying to argue without a leg upon which to stand….

In the past year and a half, I’ve written thousands and thousands of words trying to wake people up to how much they are giving away by refusing to think. It is my greatest hope that what I have to say may have some small effect on the world, an effect that might in some way contribute to our chances of surviving our own foolishness. I’m afraid my hope is, sadly, rather slim, but, I am not ready to quit my campaign, nor to change tactics. I’ll keep on poking at the BRC, and the priestly hierarchies, and every other enemy of mankind (for that is how I see them….) for as long as I can, and hope for the best….

“One of the greatest advantages in the world is enjoyed by the person who says and insists that they are telling the truth, when in fact, they are telling the truth.” — Smart Bee
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Getting There

How far is it?
How far is it now?
The gigantic gorilla interior
Of the wheels move, they appall me —-
The terrible brains
Of Krupp, black muzzles
Revolving, the sound
Punching out Absence! Like cannon.
It is Russia I have to get across, it is some was or other.
I am dragging my body
Quietly through the straw of the boxcars.
Now is the time for bribery.
What do wheels eat, these wheels
Fixed to their arcs like gods,
The silver leash of the will ——
Inexorable. And their pride!
All the gods know destinations.
I am a letter in this slot!
I fly to a name, two eyes.
Will there be fire, will there be bread?
Here there is such mud.
It is a trainstop, the nurses
Undergoing the faucet water, its veils, veils in a nunnery,
Touching their wounded,
The men the blood still pumps forward,
Legs, arms piled outside
The tent of unending cries ——
A hospital of dolls.
And the men, what is left of the men
Pumped ahead by these pistons, this blood
Into the next mile,
The next hour ——
Dynasty of broken arrows!

How far is it?
There is mud on my feet,
Thick, red and slipping. It is Adam’s side,
This earth I rise from, and I in agony.
I cannot undo myself, and the train is steaming.
Steaming and breathing, its teeth
Ready to roll, like a devil’s.
There is a minute at the end of it
A minute, a dewdrop.
How far is it?
It is so small
The place I am getting to, why are there these obstacles ——
The body of this woman,
Charred skirts and deathmask
Mourned by religious figures, by garlanded children.
And now detonations ——
Thunder and guns.
The fire’s between us.
Is there no place
Turning and turning in the middle air,
Untouchable and untouchable.
The train is dragging itself, it is screaming ——
An animal
Insane for the destination,
The bloodspot,
The face at the end of the flare.
I shall bury the wounded like pupas,
I shall count and bury the dead.
Let their souls writhe in like dew,
Incense in my track.
The carriages rock, they are cradles.
And I, stepping from this skin
Of old bandages, boredoms, old faces

Step up to you from the black car of Lethe,
Pure as a baby.

~~ Sylvia Plath
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“Dreaming permits each and everyone of us to be quietly and safely insane  every night of our lives.” — Charles William Dement

I used this a few days ago, and have since had some thoughts on the subject that fit right in with the sentiment this expresses. It begins with my own experience with dreams, which, I believe, is not typical, at least in some respects….. I’d get something to nibble on, if I were you, this could take a while to explore, in order to give it the treatment it deserves as one of our (our=humans..) least understood characteristics….

In high school, for a paper I was required to write for English class, I chose the subject of Telepathy, Dreaming, and Paranormal Activity in Humans…. which turned out to be far too massive a subject for one college-style, 20-page research paper, as I found literally thousands of pages of documented material on each of those sub-categories. So, I trimmed it down to a paper on Dreams and Dreaming, and became familiar with the latest research and information available on the subject in 1966.

Though trimmed down, there was still a great deal of information on dreaming to be found, and it was all quite fascinating, especially as dreams had been a subject I had always avoided, for reasons I wasn’t aware of until later, when I learned more about how to look inside myself at things I didn’t wish to see….. BRRRTP! EHHH! BEEP! BEEP!….. Shut that off!….. Side issue, side issue! Warning! Too much extraneous information ….. Sorry, that isn’t relevant, and my interior editing function went off…. Okay, where was I?…. Ah….

What I discovered in my research led me to the conclusion that dreams are one of our most powerful defenses against the real world, and are instrumental in mitigating the deleterious effects dealing with all of its demands can cause, in spite of our best effort and intent. As stated above, we immerse ourselves in the random, undisciplined maelstrom of insanity that is dreaming, every night, in order to resolve the feelings we have engendered in ourselves about what we’ve seen and done. This immersion allows us to process all the unresolved issues our minds have created, and face each new day with a fresh outlook, as sanely as we can….

When we don’t dream, or our sleep is disrupted, by physical or environmental intercession, we become less sane. Nervous, easily distracted, with senses alert for any danger, the world we see around us assumes a fearful aspect, and we fall even deeper in the clutches of our own despair. This has been demonstrated time and again, both in laboratory experiments, and in real life. I think everyone can relate to the feeling of waking up after a night of disturbed sleep, and understand, at least a bit, how difficult it can be to face the day when one is already tired and depressed. It is a completely different experience than awaking full of energy, and a sunny outlook, one that nobody wishes to repeat…..

I’ve been working at completing this pearl for days now, and can’t seem to find the thread that will bring it to a close, or even to a more productive line of reasoning…. When I first started it, I had a good idea of how it should go, but, in trying to get things done, it got lost in the shuffle… But, I have this…. In our dreams, our imagination is at its finest, and we are treated to the sheer joyous power of it nightly, when it fills our sleeping minds with image after image that seemingly makes no sense, but has an underlying piece of reality in it that connects to our spirit, and allows us to accept what in the real world we would never even see….

That power is so great that, without any conscious effort on our part, our daily stress and angst is processed, and resolved, at least to the point where it will not trouble our conscious mind the following day. Instead, we start the day fresh, and are better equipped, mentally and emotionally, to deal with whatever new issues the universe presents for our entertainment. Without being able to dream, we start the day on edge, nervous, and filled with unspecified dread of what may happen, all with no identifiable reason.

Another day, I’ll go into another aspect of dreaming, one that ties into our creativity…. It is safe to say that dreaming is an integral part of what I do each morning when I sit down to write these Pearls, both in its value in giving my mind the surcease from care it requires, and in the very process of creation itself, when I attempt to connect to that part of the imagination that dreaming uses naturally, to send us into the realms of madness each night…. Bringing that into the real light of day is truly a wondrous event, and one I seek continuously…..

“I found the answer . . . but forgot the question.” — Smart Bee
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As this Pearl evolved, I wasn’t sure how it would turn out…. After going back over it, however, after a couple of tune-ups, I think it came out rather well, all things considered. Well enough to let it fly, at the very least…. I’m not going to even think about how it might go over, as that always turns out to be a waste of time, as is most speculation on the future… Before I start to babble again, I’ll let y’all get back to whatever you were up to until now, hopefully with a smile on your face, and a song in your heart….  Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

dozer3

Working in from the outer edge…..

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7

Ffolkes,
“You tell Bupkes, either he’s there at six o’clock, in full clown regalia, nose and bicycle horn included, or I’m calling the guild, and he’ll never work another Mardi Gras in this town!” Everard Cross, who consistently won the neighborhood grouch award because he believed in living up to his name, growled his threat to the wife of Bupkes the Clown into the phone, then slammed it down hard enough to bounce.

At the top of his voice, he yelled out, “Honey, get me the Guildmaster on the phone; I need to roast a clown.” Picking up his well-chewed cigar from the ashtray, he chomped down on it and chewed. while he gazed with naturally beady eyes across the desk at his next victim, er, client…. “I hate clowns…” he thought, as he gazed at yet another smiling face surrounded by red curls, and the biggest red nose he’d ever seen….

Hmm…. Not too shabby for pre-coffee. It’s always a risk, trying to be coherent before that first sip or two of morning’s blood; I never know if my head will cooperate. It seems this morning, I caught it in a decent mood for once, and was able to finesse that out while the coffee was brewing. SIGH….. It is always a conundrum, though, to figure out if such smoothness so early is a good omen, or bad. It could turn either way, given the natural tendency around here toward unpredictability, so it’s a good idea to not commit oneself too early, lest one get shat upon…… not my favorite morning activity, you can bet…..

In fact, I have yet to find ANY activity in the morning that can be fully trusted to offer itself as omen for the day. Everything that happens seems to be fraught with potential for good or evil, and the final decision as to which isn’t apparent until the very last moment…. This can make the choice to continue, or to abort, anything I begin somewhat of a challenge, as you might guess.

It has gotten to the point that, lest Murphy completely take over my life, I refuse to make a decision about stuff like this, and sink into frozen inactivity. There is little else I can do some days, and if both of us are in a pissy mood, well, it can get ugly…… There have been days of late where not a damn thing moves or gets done until noon, or until one of us blinks. Fortunately, Murphy is bipolar, and can’t concentrate long enough to win at least half the time, so it evens out pretty well…. but, it’s a big pain having to go through that on a daily basis…

Ah well, I could lament the daily battles with the forces of nature for a long time, but, we DO have other stuff to accomplish today. I myself must go shopping for food, before there is no money left to do so, so it would no doubt serve me well to get started on today’s Pearl. Not that I want to be a toadie, and just cave in whenever someone tells me what I should be doing, even if it is logical. I’ll just stall around a moment here, and fill in with some extraneous verbiage that has nothing to do with anything at all, before I give in to the power of suggestion. If nothing else, that will fill in the rest of THIS paragraph, and make this a visually symmetrical intro…. one of our corollary goals…. Shall we Pearl?…..
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“The secret of life is to appreciate the pleasure of being terribly deceived.” — Oscar Wilde

Oscar’s speech, and his grasp of the art of conversation, were legendary for showing wit along with intelligent insight. Often, with aphorisms like this one, that depth of insight became quite shiny….. It doesn’t seem like much, at first glance, but is actually quite good advice, though given with tongue firmly planted in cheek. In one simple sentence, he condemns modern society for its lack of integrity, and offers to mankind the only true way to be content with our lot…..

In this society, we, the people, are deceived on what is essentially an hourly basis, by our leaders, by our priests, by businesses, by the police, by each other for the sake of expedience; almost every minute of our lives we are being lied to by someone, especially if one watches a lot of TV. We have, culturally, become so inured to being lied to that we have come to assume it is not just okay, but is the only way to get ahead in life…. Sadly, this may be true…. The presence of honesty in human interaction has become so rare that most people just expect the lies, and learn to live with them per Oscar’s suggestion.

In its simplicity, and in its Zen-like attitude, what Oscar shared is very much Eastern in its outlook. It isn’t a common idea in Western culture to “go with the flow”, but rather to “fight on”; the concept of acceptance to deal with challenge is foreign to most of us raised under Christian standards. But, regardless of where one is raised, the lies are still out there, being used by those in power to confuse, distract, and manipulate the voting public, and I think we can count on them to continue in that vein for as long as it continues to work for them….

So, maybe it is time to look at what Oscar said as a challenge, rather than advice. Perhaps, if the public began to NOT accept the lies, but began to question those in authority, to demand that the truth be told, then maybe there is a chance for us to survive the coming collapse….. Maybe…. it may already be too late….

I read an interesting article the other day, and I use the word ‘interesting’ in its most dangerous sense, as is common in Eastern culture, where being wished an “interesting life” is a curse…. The article made this statement, to wit: the climate is not changing. It has changed…… In other words, the moment that the environmentalists have been fearing for years has arrived, and we have reached a point of no return.

The millions of tons of particulate matter (“pollution”) we have been pumping into the air for the last 100 years has reached a point where irreversible changes in the balance of the planetary ecosystem have been made, and the climate, which has just begun to alter its centuries-old patterns, will now continue to grow more unpredictable, and more violently destructive than has ever been seen before in history. These changes are not going to stop, and in fact, will worsen over time…. and, I am unhappy to report, this is not fear-mongering, this is not speculation, this is not a lie…. this is demonstrable fact.  See for yourself, here:

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

I am so pissed off about this that I am going to have to stop this pearl right here; I’m already trembling from the jolt of adrenaline the anger stimulated in me. Those in power over society have ignored the warnings that scientists and environmentalists have issued for decades, and their intransigence is now going to kill all of us, slowly and with great pain for many, as life on this planet becomes more and more of a challenge, to live, nay,  just to survive.

There is only one reason this is happening, and that is the FACT that the Beloved Ruling Class has, for centuries, lied and cheated the rest of humanity, and have arranged matters so that they are the only ones who are truly comfortable… most of humanity has to struggle to obtain just enough of the resources being hoarded to live in hunger, barely able to survive.

Bah! I am incensed, and can hardly contain my rage…. It makes me want to go out and start….. well, I started to say “killing”,  referring to the members of the BRC, but, on second thought, killing is too good for them. I think I’d rather keep them alive, but make them suffer, just as much as they have made others suffer their entire lives….. It’s time, ffolkes, for humanity to step up, and boot the assholes out…. They are killing us, and I think it is about time we did something to return the favor, don’t you?….. Think about, but don’t take long, because it’s already too late…..

“If I had a Q-TIP, I could prevent th’collapse of NEGOTIATIONS!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

“Rare gift! but oh what gift to fools avails!” — Alexander Pope (1688-1744) — The Odyssey of Homer, Book x, Line 29
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Conversations Among The Ruins

Through portico of my elegant house you stalk
With your wild furies, disturbing garlands of fruit
And the fabulous lutes and peacocks, rending the net
Of all decorum which holds the whirlwind back.
Now, rich order of walls is fallen; rooks croak
Above the appalling ruin; in bleak light
Of your stormy eye, magic takes flight
Like a daunted witch, quitting castle when real days break.

Fractured pillars frame prospects of rock;
While you stand heroic in coat and tie, I sit
Composed in Grecian tunic and psyche-knot,
Rooted to your black look, the play turned tragic:
Which such blight wrought on our bankrupt estate,

What ceremony of words can patch the havoc?

~~ Sylvia Plath
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“The only end of writing is to enable the readers better to enjoy life, or better to endure it.” — Samuel Johnson

I have to agree with Sam on this one; this is a very nice way to look at writing, and a fair and complete description as well. If I can do either one of these things for, or to, my readers, I would consider what I wrote to be a success, no matter how many ‘Likes’ it got…. In that same vein, I’d like to take a moment today to shout out a big THANK YOU to all the ffolkes who have stopped in to read what I write, and especially to those who have commented, hit the ‘Like’ button, or otherwise let me know they were there…. or even if not, Thanks!

Two days ago, I posted my 600th blog, and, in a serendipitous occurrence, had my 200th and 201st followers come on board the same day. I was rather jazzed, as you may imagine….. Even though I what I write, I write for myself, as a form of therapy, it is nice to hear that other ffolkes, and folks, are enjoying what I’ve written enough to either comment, Like, or Follow.

I write to get all the crap out of my head, that, if left there, would fester until it spilled out on some unsuspecting citizen, and that is uncomfortable for both of us.  Rather than have to struggle internally all day to keep from biting people, I write, and get most of the angst and bitterness, that dealing with the world creates, out… I am a firm believer in “Better out than in….”  Hopefully, what I am writing will be enjoyed by somebody, whether for the humor, the attempted insight, the truth, or the bozoid tendencies, I don’t much care, as long as it doesn’t hurt anybody’s feelings….

Well, wait, that isn’t true…. If a reader happens to be a priest/preacher, a politician, or another of those I consider to be part of the BRC and those shadowy corporate icons who run the world from behind the scenes, well, then I hope what I write makes you very nervous. If it hurts your feelings, well, I would consider that a good thing, if only because you still have feelings that can be hurt….. As the first of today’s pearls indicated, I’m rather perturbed at the actions of that group of people, and couldn’t give a shit about how my thoughts affect them, as long as it is negatively… The worse the better, as far as I’m concerned….

As for everyone else who comes by, just be aware that, ultimately, everything I say here is truth. I won’t say I’m not human, and that I don’t occasionally lie…. I do, just like everyone else alive.  Sometimes it can be for expedience, to save myself trouble, such as telling someone I don’t have a cigarette, when I do… More importantly, I will sometimes lie to spare someone’s feelings, and if that upsets the gods of karma, well, so be it… I don’t like to hurt people…. and to me, that can justify a small lie, at least on a temporary basis… Maybe that’s morally weak, but, hey, I’m just a romantic bozo, and can’t help the way I feel…. I can change it, and I do, but, the initial feelings are pretty well spontaneous combustion, and not subject to that sort of control…. But, that is all out in the Big Blue Room…. everything I put down here is the truth, as I know it, so you can count on that…..

So, while I’m doing drone work here, I’ll explain the word ‘ffolkes’…. I use that word, with that spelling, to indicate the people who read this blog, or receive the daily email of the blog, or know me, or know of me…. ‘folks’ is everybody else…… This is an easy way to keep track of the whom to which I may be referring…. and isn’t that a grammatical and syntactical gem?  What I mean is, it makes it more intimate, as to me, ffolkes are my friends, while folks are strangers…. ffolkes possess a brain, and aren’t afraid to use it, while folks tend to sit on theirs….. ffolkes can use logic as a scalpel, folks use it as a hammer. I think that will give you the drift…. I spell it that way for two reasons… one, because I can, and two, because I like it….  🙂

There is probably a legal limit to the number of paragraphs one is allowed to use to just fuck around and say nothing much, but, I don’t ever seem to reach it, no matter how much I ramble and prattle on… Here we have now seven of them, all with very little to confer that could be construed as real  information. Hopefully, y’all will know now what I mean by “ffolkes”, and I hope it gives you the same warm feeling it does me, to know that you are in a friendly environment, where you may find acceptance, respect, love, and compassion, right alongside the viciously sarcastic curmudgeonry I aim at the BRC and their myrmidons…..

Since I’m uncertain as to whether I have enough left to fill in one more past this one, to make a cosmically balanced nine paragraphs, I will settle for eight, and the solid foundation it implies…. For some strange reason, whenever I think of eight, I get a visual image of Pont Neuf potatoes, nicely golden brown… What does that mean?…. Ah well, there are some mysteries we are destined never to solve, I guess….. Housekeeping done, and remember ffolkes, I love you all, and hope your life proceeds according to your dreams…..

Were I so tall to reach the pole,
Or grasp the ocean with my span,
I must be measured by my soul:
The mind ‘s the standard of the man.

— Isaac Watts (1674-1748) — Horae Lyricae, Book ii, False Greatness
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I’ll take it…. I performed the best type of proofing, by walking away for ten minutes, then reading it from scratch…. A tiny bit of polish, a stray thought or two added in, and it’s well-nigh perfect, as such things go (Remember that phrase, please; it could be important if this ever becomes a legal issue…) …. It is, therefore, officially done…. I’ve got a lot to do today, so, I’ll wish you a productive diurnal activity period, sometimes known as a g’day, and get on with it….  Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

dozer3

Rapid fluctuation in the power grid….

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9

Ffolkes,
At the age I’ve reached, one of the best lessons I learned, long ago, is/was the value of routine. Developing a routine of efficient activities to organize the start of the day  is one of the most important tools one can find and use in the work-a-day world. It allows one to get to work on time, with everything in hand that is necessary to the day, and with mind and body prepared for the tasks ahead, without undue stress or worry. When this routine is disrupted, it can affect the tenor of the rest of the day, like ripples in a pond, or a mathematical error that grows bigger with each new computation….

I’m starting to believe that even Murphy is not immune to the power of schedules and routines. When I was younger, and still going to work daily, if I observed the details of my routine, he seemed to stand back and not bother with me, waiting for other times to step in with his decidedly infantile sense of humor. If he was very, very clever, he sometimes could affect a small part of the routine, and cause a bit of uproar, but generally, I’d get so focused on carrying it out that he couldn’t get me to pay any attention to him, so he’d go off to find someone more vulnerable….. All of which means that there is a power to the act of routine behaviors, carried out time after time until they are ingrained, a power that resists the oppositional power of chaos that Murphy so adeptly subjects us to whenever he can….

What does this mean, in a philosophical, cosmic sense? Well, not much, I’d guess…. Actually, all of the above is pretty much just a type of mental diarrhea, which, though descriptive (perhaps too much so….), is not an image I particularly wish to saddle y’all with so early in the day. Of course, by the time you read this, it won’t be so early, either, a consideration that only adds to the absolute uselessness of the entire discussion…..

Yeah, we’ve got our routines, and they help keep entropy under control, but, so what? It doesn’t mean diddly in the large picture, and really isn’t particularly gripping as a subject for discussion, here, or anywhere….. But, it was sort of like that hive of bees that lives in my head…. there they were, and what else was I going to do with them, except share them with y’all?…. Exactly……

SIGH…. one of these days, I’m going to write a generic introductory section, and just use it as a template, the same every day… Then I wouldn’t be trying to come up with something every day to pull folks in and grab their interest….. Even my nearly unlimited store of nonsense and sheer flights of fantasy are getting a bit sparse, and ranting in the intro just seems like overkill. Maybe I’ll start ranting about myself…… I’ll have to do something soon, as I’m stretching my imagination to its limits, and beyond, to come up with these on a daily basis….

Most likely, however, I’ll just ignore the issue again, and keep on keepin’ on, as long as it works…. Shall we Pearl?…..
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In difficult ground, press on;
In encircled ground, devise stratagems;
In death ground, fight.

— Sun Tzu, The Art of War (circa 400 B.C.)

The Art of War is still considered by military experts to be one of the definitive books on warfare and strategy, after more than 2000 years. I’m not certain, but would certainly be surprised if it is not still used as a reference at West Point, Annapolis, The Citadel, and the Air Force Academy in classes on tactics and strategy in battle, and in peace time. In the book, which is actually quite short, Sun Tzu gives the basic tenets for success in war, and was so perfectly correct and complete, that it remains valid today, even though the landscape of war has grown much larger, and more complex. The issues that can decide victory or defeat remain the same……

One of the most surprising features of the book is the idea that Sun Tzu presents regarding the perfect warrior. In his mind, warriors came in a number of types, each of which required a different method of leadership. The surprise lies in his choice of the type of warrior that he considers to be the most valuable; oddly enough, at least, on the surface, he chose… the Spy…..

Not the weapons master, not the brilliant tactician, not the engineer… the spy. According to Sun Tzu, a properly trained and experienced agent provocateur was, by far, the most valuable type of warrior, for, with the proper application of truth and lies, and the correct timing, battles might be won without loss of life or property, or with a minimum of effort, due to the efforts before the battle by the spy. This choice indicates that Sun Tzu recognized the true battle that is waging at all times when people interact with each other…. the battle between truth and lies…..

We see this battle raging in our own society every day, as the politicians vie with each other to see which one can get the furthest from the truth and still convince people they aren’t full of shit. When we have priests telling us that we aren’t the masters of our own bodies or minds, expecting us to not even ask why, we are witnessing the constant struggle for control of our minds… and our pocketbooks…. Control of the former, of course, will always lead to control of the latter, and you can bet your booties that it is the pocketbooks that the preachers and politicians are concerned with, not just our minds, or our souls….. You betcha, compadre…

She was a wight, if ever such wight were,–
Des. To do what?
Iago. To suckle fools and chronicle small beer.
Des. O most lame and impotent conclusion!

— William Shakespeare (1564-1616), Othello — Act ii, Sc. 1

Normally, or as close as we get to normally, I wouldn’t use a Shakespeare quote, and this one shows why very well… I can’t for the life of me figure out what the hell any of it means, but the last line struck home for this discussion… Before what I am saying reaches the point where the last line might apply, I will refer you to the book itself…..  The Art of War, by Sun Tzu;  copies of it are available at any bookstore, and probably online in a number of places.

It is a fairly quick read, (though there are points that do require some thought and pondering), being less than a hundred pages in most of the versions I’ve seen. As I said above, it’s pretty simply written, but covers all that is needed to get his point across, which has to do with winning, not just at war, but in life. As with many things in Chinese culture, there is more to the subject than may be apparent on first view, and it is worth the time to look more deeply into what Sun Tzu has told us….

But war ‘s a game which were their subjects wise
Kings would not play at.

— William Cowper (1731-1800) — The Task, Book v, The Winter Morning Walk, Line 187
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Bankers Are Just Like Anybody Else, Except Richer

This is a song to celebrate banks,
Because they are full of money and you go into them and all you hear is clinks and clanks,
Or maybe a sound like the wind in the trees on the hills,
Which is the rustling of the thousand dollar bills.
Most bankers dwell in marble halls,
Which they get to dwell in because they encourage deposits and discourage withdrawals,
And particularly because they all observe one rule which woe betides the banker who fails to heed it,
Which is you must never lend any money to anybody unless they don’t need it.
I know you, you cautious conservative banks!
If people are worried about their rent it is your duty to deny them the loan of one nickel,
yes, even one copper engraving of the martyred son of the late Nancy Hanks;
Yes, if they request fifty dollars to pay for a baby you must
look at them like Tarzan looking at an uppity ape in the jungle,
And tell them what do they think a bank is, anyhow, they had better go get the money from their wife’s aunt or ungle.
But suppose people come in and they have a million and they want another million to pile on top of it,
Why, you brim with the milk of human kindness and you urge them to accept every drop of it,
And you lend them the million so then they have two million
and this gives them the idea that they would be better off with four,
So they already have two million as security so you have no hesitation in lending them two more,
And all the vice-presidents nod their heads in rhythm,
And the only question asked is do the borrowers want the money sent or do they want to take it withm.
Because I think they deserve our appreciation and thanks,
the jackasses who go around saying that health and happiness are everything and money isn’t essential,
Because as soon as they have to borrow some unimportant money to maintain their health and happiness they starve
to death so they can’t go around any more sneering at good old money, which is nothing short of providential.

Ogden Nash
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Delusional material, very dangerous…. Read carefully…

I asked God for strength, that I might achieve;
I was made weak, that I may learn humbly to obey.

I asked God for health, that I may do greater things;
I was given infirmity, that I might do better things.

I asked for riches, that I may be happy;
I was given poverty, that I might be wise.

I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men;
I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God.

I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life,
I was given life, that I might enjoy all things.

I got nothing I asked for but everything I hoped for.
I am, among all men, most richly blessed.

— unattributed, even by Smart Bee
(I don’t blame them for not wanting to take credit for this….)

From the time we are small, our minds are programmed with the ideas and beliefs our parents and families held as truth, regardless of whether or not there is any actual truth to be found in them. We have little, or no, defense against these ideas, as we are naturally inclined to believe what our care givers tell us.

While I can understand the way it works, it seems to me to be a shame, that we don’t come with a built in truth detector, to protect us before we are able to reason for ourselves. Until our minds have been trained, we tend to accept whatever someone in a position of authority tells us, which may keep us safe in a physical sense when we are small and vulnerable, but is a dangerous habit to develop when grown.

The above is an example of how churches and the priestly hierarchies attempt to befuddle people into obedience and acceptance of their credos, aimed at those adults who have carried over their trust in authority into their adult views. On the surface, the statements seem to imply a certain morality, one of patience, compassion, and beneficence; but, underneath, they are merely designed to reinforce the ideas they wish to espouse, of obedience, humility, and subservience to authority.

If one is to believe the priestly hierarchies, we humans don’t really stand a chance against the universe…. In their minds, God has it all worked out, and it isn’t our place to question any of His prerogatives; we are here only to do His (translates as: their….) will, and to sing His praises (keeps us busy NOT thinking….). We are weak, bumbling, foolish creatures whose only claim to fame is that God loves us… according to dogma. It occurs to me to ask, “So, which one of y’all is the one to whom God spoke, when he laid down all this specious crap? When y’all talked with God, how long had it been since you last took your medication?”

I know, I know, not very friendly approach, but, sheesh, give me a break…. I mean, these people are responsible for a great deal of the suffering and trouble mankind has endured over the last 2000 years or so, and don’t even have the courtesy to take credit, or apologize. In their minds, all that stuff they do to maintain their status quo is justified by their holiness, or whatever it is they claim makes them special. And, all the time, in reality, everything they do is designed, ultimately, to bring coins to their purses, and food to their tables, at the expense of the ignorant mass of believers…..

I feel a nasty rant coming on…. Sometimes, when I write one of these rips at religion, I just get SO ANGRY…. I’m mad at the preachers and priests, and those who support them, for their willingness to prey on the public, using the pretension of religious fervor and worship to justify their narcissism, and for the thousands of years of suffering that mankind has endured by their hand. I am also angry at those people who buy into their bullshit, for not having the courage to use their minds, to blithely accept anything told to them by an authority figure, and never even considering that there might be more to life than they are seeing….. It is all such a waste, and my anger knows no bounds….

“Civilization is fun!  Anyway, it keeps me busy!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

Well, it would keep me busy if I could find any….. I had to include this little side-trip from Zippy in order to bring my anger level down. I was feeling the urge to let out ALL of the vulgar curses I could think of, to express how I feel about all the assholes who perpetrate this entire fallacy on the rest of humanity, knowing how gullible they are, and how little effort it takes to fool them into believing the most incredible bullshit.

I mean, how hard can it be to fool someone who would believe that the recent spate of cold weather means that global warming is a myth? How hard is it to fool someone who will gladly trade their freedom in this life for the promised reward in the next life? It’s so damn easy that the fools actually come asking for it, to be made into puppets, just so they can believe they are beloved of God, and guaranteed a spot in Heaven…. I often wonder just how fit to survive our species really is, when we can’t even come to terms with our own sense of self, or learn to accept the responsibility for our own actions….

Most folks are so scared to think for themselves that they gladly surrender that chore to the priests and politicians, apparently not even caring how often they lie to them. Even when the lies are exposed, and even proved, people will hang on to their prejudices, and to the belief in supernatural beings that control our every move; they are quite unwilling to let go of what they’ve bought into all their lives, even when it’s clear that none of it is true. Most of the time, they are unwilling to even look at any arguments against what they hold to be true, preferring the solid comfort of their ignorance. Makes me want to puke, it does…. on THEIR shoes…

Ah well, I’ve spilled enough bile and venom for one morning. It would probably be best to move on, and let this one die a natural death. If nothing else, I got some angst and pressure relieved, for the time being. It is almost a comfort to know that the politicians and preachers will be providing more ammunition in the coming days, as they continue their campaign of oppression against the people of the Earth; that means I’ll always have plenty about which to rant…. Happy Days!….

“Those who won’t think will have it done for them.” —  Smart Bee
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Okay, so I went a bit overboard today…. I got a little carried away there, firing away at the preachers, and lost track. So sue me… wait, that’s probably not a good thing to say these days….. You never know when one of the folks at whom I’m poking will take overt offense, and try to make trouble of a legal nature… Good thing I am careful never to name names, or imply any specific targets,  beyond those identifiable by their very ubiquitousness. Since I figure they deserve all the abuse they get, in payment for all they’ve abused mankind over the centuries, they’re just going to have to deal with it…. I could care less….. 🙂

There, all venom and bile has been expelled from my head, and I can now go face the day with a relatively stable sense of equanimity. It’s got to be better than any of the alternatives, I’d say….  I guess I’m done…..  Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

dozer3

Lying to politicians for fun and profit….

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Ffolkes,
We all can agree on certain things, I think, such as the sun is likely to come up in the morning, or water is pretty wet; there isn’t a lot of argument when someone makes an assertion along those lines. But, make a statement about just about anything that isn’t an accepted part of Consensual Reality, and you will get arguments from all sides…. That is just human nature, I think, and not something that needs to be changed, as it stems from our natural curiosity, and I’m all about encouraging people to doubt, especially if it has to do with interpreting Reality. That entity, as we all know, can be a slippery, elusive subject to pin down in a precise manner…..

Now, at this point in this morning’s effort, you are probably asking yourself, “What the hell is he babbling about now?” And you’d be right to do so, because I haven’t a clue…. That’s right, that entire paragraph is null and void, as far as having any connection to the Real Reality we all cohabit. I started out with a thought in mind, but it had disappeared before I got to “water is pretty wet”, so I just sort of faked it, letting the words flow out just as if they had any real meaning. What can I say, it’s a gift….

Y’all might be getting a bit worried at this stage in the proceedings, that it could be dangerous to hang around long enough to read the rest, but you couldn’t be more wrong…. I’ve spent a lot of time, effort, and money, (well, maybe not much money….), to ensure that everything on this blog is true and complete, to the best of my knowledge, and safety is one of our bywords.

I’ll have you know that, in spite of the radical nature of what we often discuss here, no reader has ever been injured, either by, or because of the content, and no reader has ever hurt themselves while reading it. Well, there was that one guy, who fell out of his chair, laughing at a picture, & banged up his elbow, but he doesn’t count, as he wasn’t wearing his seat belt, and no bandages were called for….

So, have no fear…. everything here at Exploring Consensual Reality is designed with your safety in mind…. unless, of course, one considers that the BRC could conceivably take offense to some of our content, and come to discuss the matter in their own inimitable fashion, i.e., with guns and tanks. In that case, each of you is authorized to take whatever action you see fit, up to and including the use of arms, to protect yourselves.

I’m pretty sure that right now, I’m too small potatoes for the powers that be to worry much over my writing… Not until I’ve got several million readers egging me on to even more radical suggestions, and more scathing criticisms of the actions of our Beloved Ruling Class, will they bother to try to shut me up…..

Oops…. ranting early again… Sorry, it’s getting to be a habit. It’s a good thing I’m not an addictive personality, or it could get to be obsessive. Some might say that producing this blog on a daily basis is obsessive, but, they don’t say that where I can hear them, knowing I’ll hurt them, a lot…..

No, really, ffolkes, all kidding aside, it’s probably the best thing if we just get into the water, and get on with today’s dive for pearls. In looking back over this intro section, I am firmly convinced that very little else has a chance of saving this one…. Shall we Pearl?…..

“Do not say a little in many words but a great deal in a few.” — Pythagoras (BC 582-507)
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“The first riddle I ever heard, one familiar to almost every Jewish child, was propounded to me by my father:

“What is it that hangs on the wall, is green, wet — and whistles?”
I knit my brow and thought and thought, and in final perplexity gave up.
“A herring,” said my father.
“A herring,” I echoed.  “A herring doesn’t hang on the wall!”
“So hang it there.”
“But a herring isn’t green!” I protested.
“Paint it.”
“But a herring isn’t wet.”
“If it’s just painted it’s still wet.”
“But — ” I sputtered, summoning all my outrage, “a herring doesn’t whistle!!”
“Right, ” smiled my father.  “I just put that in to make it hard.”

— Leo Rosten, “The Joys of Yiddish”

When I first read this, it teased out a goodly chuckle at the silliness of the exchange, and the fine irony of the father’s riddle. But, I wasn’t sure it would make a good pearl, based as it is on systematic cultural delusions, until I realized it doesn’t have to confine itself to that standard in order to be useful…..

As I’ve demonstrated amply in previous posts, I’m not a big fan of most organized religions; mostly I regard them as examples of mass delusional outbreaks, that everyone buys into because they’re too embarrassed to admit it’s all a bunch of bilge water, solely designed to take advantage of the constituents. Well, that, and mental laziness, meaning it’s easier to let others do the thinking for you….

I can see, however, how this particular little story is adaptable;  if one doesn’t consider the dogmatic implications of any of it, it becomes more of a valid lesson in how to approach reality, and a lesson in human cupidity….. It teaches the lad several important things about his father, his culture, and ultimately, encourages the use of imagination….

The final line is my favorite part, and is a perfect metaphor for how we can expect the world at large to treat us, at least from a societal standpoint….. How we can deal with individuals within that society is also implied, though it doesn’t go so far as to explain why they act as they do…. In fact, the lesson there is that other people AREN’T to be trusted fully, as they tend to lie, for whatever reason, and finding the truth can be problematic at best…..

The Jewish culture tends to pride itself on its long history as an institution, and to tout how much suffering they have had to endure at the hands of the intolerant and the ignorant over the centuries. This long history of struggle has imbued their mindset with deep pessimism, to a large degree, and a great many of their aphorisms, maxims, and quotes tend to reflect that lack of trust in the rest of humanity, promoting the idea of isolating and maintaining their own culture.

I suppose that attitude has served them well, to protect them against ideological immersion in other cultures, preserving their own proprietary prejudices from merging with the others. Whether that is a good thing, or not, remains to be seen, at least on the larger stage of the entire panorama of human existence.

If little else can be determined by such a long history of cultural isolation, by choice, it at least provides the rest of us with some pretty amusing tales and stories, and a chuckle or two at their twisted wisdom, such as it is…..

“Once upon a time, four AMPHIBIOUS HOG CALLERS attacked a family of DEFENSELESS, SENSITIVE COIN COLLECTORS and brought DOWN their PROPERTY VALUES!!” — Zippy the Pinhead
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Just for fun….

Roses for Noses

I have a bozoid personality, of the first degree;
nobody, I mean nobody, knows that better than me.
I often wonder, as the world goes around, and around
how many others have realized just what I’ve found….

I know for a fact, I’m not the only bozoid one;
too many people laughing out there, having fun.
Is their laughter, though, at themselves first?
or is it some other impulse, like purple liverwurst…..

I’ve always loved to make others laugh and giggle,
since my tender youth, when my ears began to wiggle.
The world is full of humor,  but not always easy to find
so laughing at myself I learned never to mind.

We bozos know each other, here, there, and everywhere
there’s no hiding such joy, it just wouldn’t be fair.
We all have one feature, our great bulbous nose,
and there’s no doubt at all, cuz it just grows.

There’s nothing like a good, big mistake, a disaster,
to show us the folly of living life faster and faster.
Nothing in the world can ever take the place,
of seeing in the mirror, a happy, smiling face.

Don’t be shy, just let it all hang out;
we bozos have more fun, there’s no doubt.
Life’s too somber and gray if we let it get on top
if we don’t stay loose, the pain won’t ever stop.

My advice to all of you, out there in the world,
let noses grow round & red, keep hair tightly curled.
Find a way to let your spirit out often to play,
you’ll never once regret any price you pay.

~~ gigoid

“A poem is a serious joke, a truth that has learned jujitsu.” — William Stafford
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Over time, I’ve found the most powerful pearls are composed of five random quotes, chosen by my unconscious mind in a process I’ve yet to understand, or even evaluate, fearing it would burst the bubble of whatever makes it work so well…. This pearl is a perfect example of that category, and all in all, contains some pretty damn good advice on how to live life with honor and dignity, as well as joy.

The final conclusion to be reached on the path I’ve laid out is, naturally, left for the Gentle Reader to find at the end of the journey…. No worries, kids, it’s not a long trip…. good luck!…. And don’t forget to stay on the path; our rescue dogs are on their vacation this week….

“We lie about the truth, that’s what ruins us here. And do you know why we lie about the truth? Not because we like to, but because we are scared to death of it. If we looked the truth in the eye nine out of ten of us would run to the graveyard and demand to be buried at once.” — Babbaluche the cobbler

“Accepting your limitations makes you humble. The limitations themselves make you an idiot.” — Dan Goodman

“When I’m not thank’d at all, I’m thank’d enough; I’ve done my duty, and I’ve done no more.” — Henry Fielding (1707-1754) — Tom Thumb the Great, Act i, Sc. 3

“Dreaming permits each and everyone of us to be quietly and safely insane  every night of our lives.” — Charles William Dement

“The most utterly lost of all days, is that in which you have not once laughed.” — Chamfort
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There is a lot to be said for perseverance; without it, today’s Pearl would have been canceled hours ago. Of course, I may be confusing perseverance with blind stubbornness, but, the end result is the same, so we’ll go with what we have…. At least I got that poem out; it has apparently been quietly waiting to get its chance at the keyboard, as it flowed out yesterday in about 20 minutes or so…. very cathartic, let me tell you….

I’ve proofed, and polished what little shine was there to be brought out, as well as I can, under the circumstances (don’t ask….), which, fortunately, brings us to the desired point, where I get to say, “It’s done.”

Yay…..  I’ll try not to let my enthusiasm splash on you…. I think I’m just depressed, because now I have to go deal with the Real Reality, out there in the Big Blue Room, and for today, at least, the tide is carrying me out to sea, away from the safe harbor of my room…. Ah well, I’m a big boy, I can handle it….   Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

dozer3

If my dilettante calls, take a message….

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Ffolkes,
Invariably, when I’m up at 0530, my mind turns to mush, or, more accurately, is mushy upon arising at that early hour….. Since I’m fond of oatmeal, this state isn’t all that unpleasant…. just slow. The addition of some butter, brown sugar, and a little bit of milk, in a figurative sense, puts me right into the correct mood for Pearling, so, all I have to do now is decide where I can find any such metaphorical condiments at this hour…. Real ones, sure, they’re right there in the kitchen, but, metaphor is a bit hard to come by so early in the day. I suppose I’m going to have to go out and milk the metaphorical cow…..

Ouch…. Well, that’s what happens when I try to write before consuming any coffee…. Milk the metaphorical cow, indeed! I walked away from that paragraph, to go get the coffee, and take a moment for morning worship,  😉  then saw that phrase when I got back. Imagine my chagrin, which, albeit strong, wasn’t enough to make me delete it… I’m leaving it there as an object lesson in humility, (or maybe that’s a lesson in abject humility….), and as a reminder to never try to compose anything before focus has been achieved, or at least courted….. Silly ass…. Someone so accustomed to the kind attentions of Murphy should know better than to tempt him with such foolishness…..

Now that I’ve come to my senses, as close as I dare approach at this hour, I find myself at somewhat of a loss to know where to go from here…. Three paragraphs in, and confusion is already rampant; it could end up being one of THOSE days, in which case, I might as well just go back to bed now. It’s too bad, really, that I’m such a moralist; it makes it hard to slough off when I want to hide from reality. Try as I might, I can’t bring myself to duck when reality swings at me; I’ll throw up a block, if I can, but ducking is cowardly, it seems to me, so I just stand there and take the first shot. I’m tough, though, and I can usually get right back up…..

Since my upbringing seems to have cornered me into finishing today’s Pearl before giving up, I guess we should get to it. It’s been great of late, now that the pressure to get done has been mitigated by not having to travel anywhere to post this material. Every morning, I get up to a fresh template for the Pearl, and proceed to fire up Smart Bee for the morning dive, in order to fill up each section with brilliant quotes and ironic humor, just waiting for me to dress it up for consumption.

I’ve been very happy with the freshness of the material that has come out of this process lately, which, given Murphy’s ever-ready presence in my life, should probably make me nervous. Thankfully, though, he doesn’t seem to mind it if I write, as long as I mention him every day….. I guess he wants more press in his old age…..

Wait, no, I didn’t mean that! You’re not old…. You’re just age-enhanced! That’s it….. Ffolkes, I think I’d best be quiet now, and get on with today’s business, before Murphy decides to take offense….. Shall we Pearl?…..
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“Life is not separate from death. It only looks that way.” — Native American Proverb (Blackfoot)

Right! What a wonderful pearl! Not only is it short and sweet, it’s just packed with insight and implied wisdom…. In my mind, when I read it, I get a vision of a fireworks fountain, spewing light and beauty into the air, in blazing, colorful sparks…. A bit fanciful, but that’s the impression I got upon seeing it the first time….

You see, I’ve been thinking a lot of late, about Death vs. Life, due most likely to the fact that my own time to face that specter is approaching, seemingly ever more rapidly, as it tends to do later in our lives. When we look back over the time we’ve had on this Earth, the time left seems so short….

But, it isn’t really any shorter, nor, I’ve come to believe, is there anything to fear from Death’s approach. We all get to live just one day at a time…. Nay, not even so much…. we live one moment at a time, and we can’t make it go faster, or slow it down. So, worrying about what might happen in the future is a waste of the moment, and not worth the effort of doing so.

In addition, I’ve come to the conclusion that what happens after Death comes for us isn’t anything to fret over, either, because, logically, death is merely a transition phase, from one level of perception to another, with the other being a reality for which we do not possess the ability to perceive, lacking some organ, or some mental awareness that is needed to do so…..

There is no evidence at all that consciousness, as we understand it, persists on this level of reality after the body has died. On the other hand, there is also no evidence at all that it does not continue to exist, on some other level that we are not aware of; add to this the simple fact that in our universe, according to physical laws, energy, in ALL of its forms, cannot be destroyed, only changed in form. The Law of the Conservation of Energy has been proven many times, and is not a matter for dispute. When one considers consciousness, i.e., the MIND, as a form of energy, it makes perfect sense to assume that it changes forms when we die, but is not destroyed. It is the only logical answer, as far as I can see….

The wise women and men of the Blackfoot tribe apparently were aware of this, as well as being aware that the universe exists as a duality, with each characteristic of reality having its opposite complement, that defines and proves its very existence. We see the world in these opposites, so it is very easy to be fooled into thinking that what we see is the true nature of that reality…. but, it isn’t, because those two opposites are all part of the same grand scheme of things, and cannot be separated, not in reality…. only in our minds, where we separate them in order to comprehend them….

“Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent, and discerning if he holds his tongue.” — Murphy, courtesy of Smart Bee

Why does he do that? Why wait until I’ve spouted off for almost a thousand words before dropping these little bombs? Ah well, fuck him, and his bloody white horse! Everything I said above is the absolute truth, in my mind, so Murphy can just go f__k  himself. Even though this aphorism is also true as the day is long, I don’t think I’ve gone so far astray that it applies… so, in spite of the Irish asshole, we’ll push on….

I have yet to discern any reason that can logically, or even speculatively, answer the question of why we don’t remember any of the time we’ve spent dead, or whatever it’s called when we’re busy not living on this plane of existence. You know, before you were born? And after we die? All of that is a long time, and since it is logical to assume the energy that makes up our consciousness is still in existence when we aren’t alive, in the classic sense, then it is also logical to assume that our minds are busy doing….. something else.

What that may be, well, your guess is as good as mine…. But, some folks’ guesses aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on…. I doubt seriously that the typical version of Heaven is a likely scenario, nor is Hell…. I regard those as just the unscrupulous concepts created by the BRC and/or priestly hierarchies to try to control the populace, not having any basis, or evidence to support them, in reality. In fact, there is ample evidence that shows otherwise, if one is open to perceiving it…..

I figure what Robert Heinlein said once is the best way to look at it… “There’s no evidence that says we live after death; there is also no evidence saying we don’t. Soon enough, you will know, so why worry about it now?” (That may be slightly paraphrased, but the idea is precisely accurate….)

Ah well, this subject, due to its nature, is one that we, or I, could ramble on about all day, and, from the looks of things, almost have done so. Life and Death are popular subjects, understandably enough, and since we all are experts, there’s no lack of stuff to read about it; everybody’s talking, as Glenn Campbell said. But, since we have the rest of this Pearl to finish, I guess I’ll let this go for now….. Just keep in mind, ffolkes, Death isn’t anything to fear, because, if nothing else, Life itself is proof of our continued existence after it is gone…. Think about it….

“The adventure is over. Everything gets over, and nothing is ever enough. Except the part you carry with you.” — E. L. Konigsburg

“One never realizes how much and how little he knows until he starts talking.” — Louis L’Amour
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The poetry of Ms. Plath is relatively new to me, having somehow escaped my notice for most of my life. Now that I have more time to feed the Elephant’s Child, I’m glad I found her…. Here is another brilliant, torturous vision from her incredible mind…..

Witch Burning

In the marketplace they are piling the dry sticks.
A thicket of shadows is a poor coat. I inhabit
The wax image of myself, a doll’s body.
Sickness begins here: I am the dartboard for witches.
Only the devil can eat the devil out.
In the month of red leaves I climb to a bed of fire.

It is easy to blame the dark: the mouth of a door,
The cellar’s belly. They’ve blown my sparkler out.
A black-sharded lady keeps me in parrot cage.
What large eyes the dead have!
I am intimate with a hairy spirit.
Smoke wheels from the beak of this empty jar.

If I am a little one, I can do no harm.
If I don’t move about, I’ll knock nothing over. So I said,
Sitting under a potlid, tiny and inert as a rice grain.
They are turning the burners up, ring after ring.
We are full of starch, my small white fellows. We grow.
It hurts at first. The red tongues will teach the truth.

Mother of beetles, only unclench your hand:
I’ll fly through the candle’s mouth like a singeless moth.
Give me back my shape. I am ready to construe the days
I coupled with dust in the shadow of a stone.
My ankles brighten. Brightness ascends my thighs.
I am lost, I am lost, in the robes of all this light.

~~ Sylvia Plath
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Okay, so here’s the deal…. I went a bit overboard above with today’s rant on Life and Death, so we’re going old school for section three…. This group of pearls turned out to be one of my favorite kind…. It’s slippery, it’s deep, and it’s a challenge to find the punch line, yet each one could stand alone for a discussion, were I so inclined….. Perfect…. The punch line is, of course, left as an exercise for the Gentle Reader, with the motivation today being outsourced to Sesame Street…. If you think you’ve found the piece of wisdom buried in the coalition of ideas, give Grover a call at the soda shop; he is usually in there between 9 and 11 AM….. He’ll give you the prize for finding today’s punch line, right over the phone….

Mit der Dummheit kaempfen Goetter selbst vergebens.  [Against stupidity the very gods fight in vain.] — Friedrich Schiller (1759-1805) — The Maid of Orleans, Act iii, Sc. 6

“If you can walk, you can dance; if you can talk, you can sing.” — a saying from Zimbabwe

“I respect faith, but doubt is what gets you an education.” — Wilson Mizner

“As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light of meaning in the darkness of mere being.” — C. G. Jung

“There is no harm in praising a large dog.” — Smart Bee
(Let this one roll around in your head a while…. it grows….)

Finally, to put things into the proper perspective, I give you our final pearl of the day…. Say ‘howdy’ to Grover for me, will you?….

“I’m meditating on the FORMALDEHYDE and the ASBESTOS leaking into my  PERSONAL SPACE!!” — Zippy the Pinhead
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There…. that’s done. I’m content with it, if not ecstatic. But, then, if I ever get ecstatic, it probably wouldn’t be as good…. To find excellence, it is often required to assume that good enough isn’t enough….

For now, though, it’s good enough, even if I don’t work for the government anymore. A fact for which I am eternally grateful, if a bit miffed about style…. I know, that’s obscure, but I wouldn’t want to be inconsistent, now, would I? No, of course not…. Well, maybe just a little….  Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

dozer3