Tag Archives: Zippy the Pinhead

Reasonably moderated bed springs – free to good home…

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8

Ffolkes,

My apologies to anyone who has been commenting on my last few Pearls, and has not received a reply. I am only able to hook up to the Net once a day, usually around 11:00 or noonish, so I’ve been limited to getting the Pearls posted, and taking care of necessary business, such as email. Even my shared computing tasking program is annoyed with me, as it wants to connect to the Net several times a day to get new work. Such is life, at least until I can figure out how to get ISP service at my new apartment….. SIGH……

I also miss getting to read the blogs I follow…. I’ve been getting to a few a day, but only four or five of them, and I’m sure everyone thinks I’ve died or something…. Perhaps not, but I feel like I’m in limbo, for sure….. ah well, I must counsel myself to be patient. If I can wait on Social Security without biting anyone, I can do this, too…..

I should probably stop writing this intro now, and get on with the day’s dive….. so I will.  Shall we Pearl?…..
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“Sin lies only in hurting other people unnecessarily. All other “sins” are invented nonsense. (Hurting yourself is NOT a sin–just stupid.)” — Lazarus Long, from Robert A. Heinlein’s “Time Enough For Love”

It would be foolish to try to claim that there is NOT a part of me that wishes there was a God as described by most of the Christian sects, or the Islamic, or Jewish, or any other of the major and/or minor religions in the history of Man. Who wouldn’t want to have all the responsibility for thinking, or for acting within reason, taken out of their hands? It would be wonderful, but as it’s pretty unlikely, to all appearances, that part of me will have to remain unfulfilled….. I’d rather adopt and set the above moral standard as my own, as I happen to agree with it wholeheartedly. It forms the root, the base, the touchstone of all of my morality, the basic raison d’etre for my every decision of whether or not to act, and how to react, from an ethical standpoint of my own choice, without thinking about whether or not it is according to dogma.

I first came across Lazarus Long and his irreverent take on life when I was about 15 or 16 years old, right when I was taking classes at my parent’s church to fulfill the requirements for admission as an official, saved member of the church (Presbyterian, if it matters….), and wondering how I was going to break it to all of them that I couldn’t do it…. It was a hard decision, but, since the teachers couldn’t answer my questions about Bible incidents that puzzled me (not part of what we studied, but from different chapters I had read…), I stopped attending any services, because I didn’t want to be a hypocrite…. I could even rationalize my decision, as having been made out of concern for the safety of my family and friends, since now the church could conceivably fall down on them if they were with me when I came in…..

“Anybody who wants religion is welcome to it, as far as I’m concerned — I support your right to enjoy it.  However, I would appreciate it if you exhibited more respect for the rights of those people who do not wish to share your dogma, rapture or necrodestination.” — Frank Zappa, “The Real Frank Zappa Book”

I also happen to agree with Frank on this one. What I do believe about religion, and the concept of God, or god, or Dog, is my own business, and begins with not pressing it on others, unless they ask; in such cases I will discuss the subject superficially, without expressing any preferences one way or another…..

Unless, of course, they begin to proselytize. In THOSE cases, I will use every bit of shock value pop psychology I know of to lead them down some primrose path, messing with their heads until I get bored with them…. which usually doesn’t take long; they’re generally fairly uninteresting people. I tend to prefer people who have a bit of salt to their personality, just a touch of insanity somewhere in their blood…. Such ffolkes are much more fun to be around than folks who spend their time feeling bad about wanting to feel good….. and they annoy me far less often, as a rule…..

If God is omnipotent, why does he need my money? — Smart Bee

“The human condition is such that pain and effort are not just symptoms which can be removed without changing life itself; they are rather the modes in which life itself, together with the necessity to which it is bound, makes itself felt. For mortals, the ‘easy life of the gods’ would be a lifeless life.” — Hannah Arendt
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Vague Glimpses of a Rainbow

All the sad notions of propriety had fled,
Screaming their anger for pausing in song,
Until late came the rabid fog, colored in red,
As serenity cried, unafraid to live so strong.

Fallow fields in faithful patience set free,
Dragged from birth, by their own nature cast
Saving each moment against fear yet to be,
Carved into silence, by ignorance held fast.

Historical forces plod slowly ’tis often said
Anxieties streaming stiffly, one epoch to the next.
Cultural mania stands nonchalant in its stead
No sadder epitaph has such bittersweet context.

Patterned bags of forgotten virtue lie in wait
Blessed by reminders whose souls value affinity
Frozen webs surround the fields in gravid state
Grasping passionately within obvious opportunity.

Passage to future realities isn’t guaranteed
Small favors for deities was left off the menu
No roses, nor manna, nor gallant aerial steed
Left traces of fatal, yet originally gracious venue.

~~ gigoid
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Having just spent three hours (okay, I exaggerated…. only two….) searching in vain for a pearl to finish with, I became incensed with frustration, and rather than scare my new neighbors with a verbal outburst, I calmly set a parameter, and collected the following pearls on one subject, to wit: human nature…. As far as I can tell, all of them rate a solid 10 on the truth scale….. As always, just follow the bouncing thought as it explores your own inner self….

“The world always makes the assumption that the exposure of an error is identical with the discovery of truth–that the error and truth are simply opposite.  They are nothing of the sort.  What the world turns to, when it is cured on one error, is usually simply another error, and maybe one worse than the first one.” — H. L. Mencken

“The ultimate evil is the weakness, cowardice, that is one of the constituents of so much human nature.  When, rarely, unalloyed nobility does occur, its chances of prevailing are slim.  Yet it exists, and its mere existence is reason enough for not wiping the name of mankind off the slate.” — John Simon

“We are all terrible little creatures.” — Martin Amis

“The tragedy and the magnificence of Homo sapiens together rise from the same smoky truth that we alone among the animal species refuse to acknowledge natural law.” — Robert Ardrey, _The Social Contract_

“Man, were he not corrupted by Governments, is naturally the friend of Man, and that human nature is not of itself vicious.” — Thomas Paine

“I think we’re all Bozos on this Bus!” — Firesign Theater

Now I feel better….. and I hope you do, as well….
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“I hope something GOOD came in the mail today so I have  a REASON to live!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

I know just how Zippy felt when he voiced this plaintive wish…. but, the mail doesn’t get here until later, so this will have to do…..  Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!

It’s the sordid truth for you, boyo….

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Ffolkes,
Say what you will about it, moving from one house to another is upsetting to the psyche. Maybe it’s just me, but I am, to say the least, discombobulated. (And isn’t THAT a great word?….) Plus, I’m really tired of being poor. I sure wish there was a way to stimulate the federal bureaucracy in such a way that one specific part of it would stop acting as if it is doing us a favor by doing their job in a timely fashion. I applied for my SS last year some time, and keep getting told stuff like “the department responsible for those forms is 148 days behind in their work,” which translates into “nothing is being done, and won’t start being done until we feel like it, 6 fucking months from now.”

Okay, enough whining. Lots of folks have it much worse than I, so I’m the one who ends up sounding the twerp here. Any who, I’m alive, and that’s all that really matters…..

“I’m having an emotional outburst!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

There, I think that is enough drivel for one morning; any more and it will be piled so high I won’t be able to see the keyboard….. Shall we Pearl?….

— “Bother!” said Pooh, as he ripped the fabric of Time and Space. — Smart Bee
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“There is a higher law than the Constitution.” — William H. Seward (1801-1872) — Speech, March 11, 1850

After searching awhile, I was getting the feeling there wasn’t anything worth ranting over this morning. Then I saw this….. Have you ever encountered this? I call it “mouthing platitudes”, and see it most often in the speech of faith-based individuals, especially those of a political bent. Candidates for public office make many speeches filled to the brim with this type of insidious lying, couched in language that makes it sound as if it should be true. I regard this practice as completely reprehensible, fit only for the criminal mind to consider using in real life……

Paul Ryan’s speech at the recent RNC was a perfect example of this type of statement, along with just about every other type of lie he could come up with; lying by omission, lying by generalization of a specific, lying by making it up, lying by taking out of context, and just plain old lying through his teeth, he hit them all. It was masterful, in a way; one seldom witnesses such complete lack of truth in one convention, much less in one speech.

In THIS country, there is no higher law than the Constitution. Our forefathers made sure of that when they deliberately kept Church and State as two separate entities; they had the experience of kind of trouble that is found when the two are conjoined. That is why they came to these shores in the first place….

Mouthing such untruths as above, in the mistaken assumption that saying it as an assertion proves its truth, the speakers are trying to undo the separation of the two institutions, as they, the bankers, the priests, and the beloved ruling class, have tried to undo the Constitution’s precepts since the moment they became law.

That attempt to return the populace to slavery continues today, with the advent of two individuals who are under the complete influence of their religious beliefs, and are determined in their efforts to take over the government, effectively sending us back to the middle ages.

What they have brought forth as their platform resembles very much the same kind of law that was in place in the years prior to Christ’s birth two thousand years ago; it’s quite Old Testament flavored. One can only hope that there are enough citizens who are immune to this type of persuasion, and will hopefully come out to vote in record numbers, to show the rest of the world that not all Americans are idiots, trying to live with their heads so far up their ass, they taste their coffee twice….

If not, well, it’s a big world out there, and there must be a few places left where a man can live without having to constantly be on guard against fools…. there MUST be! And if there is, I’ll find it, as will many others, I would assume.

Ah well, I suppose by now I should be used to this; it’s been going on a long time, and the folks who spend their lives trying to avoid personal responsibility for everything are everywhere. All my life I’ve had to watch the show in the public arena as it goes through the contortions and reconfigurations every four to eight years. In a way, I suppose it just goes to show the accuracy of that old saw, “For every new foolproof invention there is a new and improved fool.” Or something like that…. it all boils down to “Stay alert out there, ffolkes”, and be sure to vote this November, whether you are voting to return to the 1700’s, or to find our way further into the 21st century…..

And never, ever forget….. Jesus was killed by a Moral Majority……
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Piraeus calls me, silently

Sizzle, sizzle, crash, bang, boom.
Intellect burning with subsequent doom.
Lingering long over decisive style,
Whistling up chaos all the while.

Such frozen thoughts may shatter,
Should we infer, but, no matter.
Firing blanks is children at play
Blooded sages all gasp in dismay.

Nonsense is good sense at times
Mundane idols trip lightly in rhymes.
Fallen angels dance on a pin
Until each sinner enters within.

Fast moments with natural rain
Bring ashes, yet still must remain.
Final thoughts clamor for more
Find them only on a far distant shore.

~~ gigoid

Hmm….. weird. Subtle, and well-rhymed, but weird, nonetheless. I’ll take it….. wrap it to go, please…..
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Old school, old school, just follow the bouncing thought…..

“Christ believed in hell. I do not myself feel that any person who is really profoundly humane can believe in everlasting punishment.” — Bertrand Russell

“Facts are stubborn things.” — Alain Rene Le Sage (1668-1747) — Gil Blas, Book x, Chap. i

Faith:  not wanting to know what is true.” — Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (1844-1900)

Hail holy light! offspring of heav’n first-born. — John Milton (1608-1674) — Paradise Lost, Book iii, Line 1

“If I had a plantation in Georgia and a home in Hell, I’d sell the plantation and go home.” — Eugene P. Gallagher

“Half a bubble off plumb.” — attributed to Mark Twain
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If this material is offensive to you, and admittedly it will be offensive to someone, than you should take time out to contemplate this truth. Seriousness is the refuge of the truly shallow! — Smart Bee

I’m pretty certain I can do more damage, so I’m cutting it off here. It’s been real, if nothing else, eh? Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!

Promises make siblings irritable….

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7

Ffolkes,
To the fading, faint echoes of the soft morning dew forming on the leaves, the sun shyly peeked over the Eastern hills, unsure at first, then gaining strength with each passing moment. Drawing in the beauty all around with the last breath of the morning ritual, Natomas gazed over the valley below, just waking; a cock crowed below his vantage point, bravely heralding the onrushing morning light. As he started down the path, he thought to himself that such beauty was indeed a gift from the universe, and he held the warmth of that thought inside as he strode into the day, vibrant and joyfully alive….

As he rounded a turn in the path twisting down the hillside, a large, soft weight hit him between his shoulders, causing him to stumble forward clumsily for  three dangerous steps before catching his balance. He whirled in place, and froze, looking with some instant spurt of fear at a large, snow-white tiger, sitting on his haunches, with what looked suspiciously like a grin on his face…..

Natomas straightened from his crouch, set his hands on his hips, tilted his head, and said, “Don’t you have anything more exciting to jump on this fine morning? For what arcane reason should I be the unlucky recipient of your boisterousness?” The tiger, without losing the grin at all, replied, “I guess you’re just lucky!”….. Natomas broke into his own grin, turned, and set forth, with the tiger striding at his side…..

“Why are you here, Findarel, walking with me this fine spring morning, instead of laying peacefully at my mother’s feet?” “She sent me to find you,” he growled. “She has had a vision….” Natomas’ countenance instantly grew grim, and he quickened his pace. “The same as the last?”, he queried anxiously. “She would not discuss it with me when she had it last week.” “She wishes to discuss it now….” the tiger answered, and leaped ahead, as the house among the trees came into view, knowing Natomas would not delay in following…..

Okay, so I like it too, and it’s too good a story line to ignore, so, I’ll be saving it, and expanding it as soon as I can; it promises to be interesting…. It will have to wait a week or two, as this coming week I will be heavily involved in the moving process, little baby steps at a time, so I don’t end up unable to do it at all…. This weekend has gone pretty well, all in all, and I’ve got about 85% of my stuff packed and ready to move… Most of what is left won’t be packed until the last minute, as it’s the stuff I use daily… no big deal, and I’ve already got boxes…. Piece o’cake…..

All things being the same, I could guarantee this blog’s daily appearance. However, since they are NOT the same, I may have to miss a day or two to deal with the transition from one ISP to another. So, if you don’t see a post here on Friday, or Saturday next, fear not, I shall return. New vistas are opening up…. I hope my vertigo doesn’t kick in…. That all said, it must be time to get started on today’s dive…. Shall we Pearl?…..
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“In Christianity neither morality nor religion come into contact with reality at any point.” — Friedrich Nietzsche

In a perfect demonstration of the accuracy of Herr Nietzche’s assertion, I give you Senator Dan Quayle, a veritable paragon of Christianity, speaking, with absolute faith, and insane illogic, the rigid and hateful prejudices as obsessed over by the Church of the Brain Dead….. one of many such cults common to the not-so-outer-fringes of the Christian, Muslim, Jewish, and other religions, all of which are prone to creation of pockets of entirely too vocal enclaves of zealous fundamentalists, who spew their strident hatred and bigotry all over the innocent, and the different…. Dan said, and this is a quote….

“You’re a very strong woman… Though this would be a traumatic experience that you would never forget, I think that you would be very successful in life.” — Senator Dan Quayle telling an 11-year-old girl — why he would want her to have the baby if she were raped — by her father, 10/18/88 (reported in Esquire, 8/92)

After you have recovered from the shock of encountering (again) such abject inhumanity, racism, bigotry, you name it and they are doing it (‘they’ being anyone who even listens to this tripe without gagging, and including any other religious zealotry as practiced in other religions beside the Christian cults) (cults is the correct word, trust me….), I’d like to scare you even further, so take a deep breath….

“If I seem to take part in politics, it is only because politics encircles us today like the coil of a snake from which one cannot get out, no matter how much one tries. I wish therefore to wrestle with the snake.” — Mahatma Gandhi

The just released, official platform of the Republican Party for the 2012 election, lays out in clear detail the very spirit of what Mr. Quayle is quoted as saying above. Their stances on women’s healthcare, and the basic rights women to decide for themselves how to live, LGBT rights and marriage (in)equality, immigration, tax cuts for the rich, tax raises for the middle and lower classes, continued reliance on the same failed economic policies that killed the economy (trickle-down theory, supply side economics), cuts to and actual elimination of Social Security and Medicare for seniors, voter suppression techniques reminiscent of the post-Civil War era….all are designed to turn back the clock to the middle of the last century, and further, in the case of women’s rights, and voter’s rights for minorities (which are no longer minorities….).

“Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats.” — H. L. Mencken

The frightened white, rich bankers and politicos are starting to realize that they are no longer actually in the majority…. close, but not enough to matter, since many, many of us honkies are technically on the other side of the fence, having more faith in humanity and basic human rights, than in perpetrating religious zealotry, or spreading lies and fear under the guise of politics.

“I know that most men, including those at ease with problems of the greatest complexity, can seldom accept even the simplest and most obvious truth if it be such as would oblige them to admit the falsity of conclusions which they have delighted in explaining to colleges, which they have proudly taught to others, and which they have woven, thread by thread, into the fabric of their lives.” — Tolstoy

This is so true….. It is insight like this, into the very nature of man, that frightens the beloved ruling class, and has since the time of Tolstoy, and before. The complacent culture that has derived from the young, energetic society of our forebears has lost the will to suffer change. They cannot imagine life different from what they know, and don’t wish to know.

Unfortunately for them, and fortunately for the rest of us here in the real world, there are now more of us than there are of them….. provided all of us who know, and care, get out there to vote in November. It is a matter of making the, to me, obvious choice, to take a path that leads to a future for all of us, instead taking us back to a time that no longer exists, and is meant only for a few….. It’s a no-brainer, to my way of thinking….

“Is a tattoo real, like a curb or a battleship?  Or are we suffering in Safeway?” — Zippy the Pinhead

Take care ffolkes, we don’t want to end up suffering in Safeway…… really, you don’t want to do that…..  I can testify…..

A disciple of another sect once came to Drescher as he was eating his morning meal.  “I would like to give you this personality test”, said the outsider, “because I want you to be happy.” Drescher took the paper that was offered him and put it into the toaster- “I wish the toaster to be happy too”. — AI koan
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Kubla Khan

By Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Or, a vision in a dream. A Fragment.
In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure-dome decree:
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea.
So twice five miles of fertile ground
With walls and towers were girdled round;
And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills,
Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree;
And here were forests ancient as the hills,
Enfolding sunny spots of greenery.

But oh! that deep romantic chasm which slanted
Down the green hill athwart a cedarn cover!
A savage place! as holy and enchanted
As e’er beneath a waning moon was haunted
By woman wailing for her demon-lover!
And from this chasm, with ceaseless turmoil seething,
As if this earth in fast thick pants were breathing,
A mighty fountain momently was forced:
Amid whose swift half-intermitted burst
Huge fragments vaulted like rebounding hail,
Or chaffy grain beneath the thresher’s flail:
And mid these dancing rocks at once and ever
It flung up momently the sacred river.
Five miles meandering with a mazy motion
Through wood and dale the sacred river ran,
Then reached the caverns measureless to man,
And sank in tumult to a lifeless ocean;
And ’mid this tumult Kubla heard from far
Ancestral voices prophesying war!
The shadow of the dome of pleasure
Floated midway on the waves;
Where was heard the mingled measure
From the fountain and the caves.
It was a miracle of rare device,
A sunny pleasure-dome with caves of ice!

A damsel with a dulcimer
In a vision once I saw:
It was an Abyssinian maid
And on her dulcimer she played,
Singing of Mount Abora.
Could I revive within me
Her symphony and song,
To such a deep delight ’twould win me,
That with music loud and long,
I would build that dome in air,
That sunny dome! those caves of ice!
And all who heard should see them there,
And all should cry, Beware! Beware!
His flashing eyes, his floating hair!
Weave a circle round him thrice,
And close your eyes with holy dread
For he on honey-dew hath fed,
And drunk the milk of Paradise.

What can be said, but, wow….. Wow…. Forgot how good this was/is…. Hope you enjoyed it, too…..
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Dreaming, I wait….

In the most patient moments of rationality
kindness flows smoothly in a special milieu,
fallow thoughts speed first from equality
to give no anxious fever, anger to eschew.

Indignant mothers and step-sons in-law
shall fade simply from brilliant to grey,
intoning ritual dogma, fresh, avid, and raw,
falling, falling, in massive pastoral disarray.

Safety lives not, save brightly in ignorant bliss,
it follows us all, silent and infinitely frail,
foremost too often, soft as a virgin kiss,
alive, always eager, willing, and pale.

Intimate knowledge finds only the bold few
with courage and virtue to gift, unbidden.
No solemn royal version may pass in review,
true love for man, never to remain unhidden.

Sweet feathers of Emily’s hope uplift,
calm, drowsy episodes bursting with light,
With final glad cries we set ourselves adrift,
swimming in the oceans of natural delight.

When sorrow is banished, in ages yet to come,
roots solidly anchored, cold and remote,
Ample supplies of kindness sit silent and dumb,
and the old stranger shrugs on his faded coat.

Dreaming, then, I wait with shadows in the night
aspiring to inspire, a message from the muse’s heart
Never forgotten images, framed in color bright,
tempt me only, grieving, steeped in serenity’s arcane art…..

~~ gigoid

And there you have it…. such as it is. I hope you can appreciate just how bloody a process this is for me… but, if not, I hope you at least enjoy the poem for its brave journey into madness…   🙂
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In the interests of honesty and full disclosure, most, if not all of this Pearl was composed yesterday afternoon, when I fell into a semi-trance-like state, during which I ripped out the rant in the first section, found, read, copied, pasted,and formatted Kubla Khan, and then opened up a vein and poured myself into the poem…. I’m not sure what I’ll do with all this extra time this morning, but I’m sure I’ll think of something…. Maybe I’ll change the dressing on my open vein….. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you….

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

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!

Ferrets don’t elect their kings…..

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2

Ffolkes,
“I’m dappled and dreary, and ready for sleep”  It’s odd that Paul Simon should know how I feel this morning… it’s even odder that I should feel like this after 8 or so hours of sleep. Aren’t we supposed to wake up with bursting energy, having filled our depleted stores through the miracle of sleep? I believe we are, so going through a whole night, and still needing rest, is somewhat discouraging, to say the least.

I’m so tired, I’m breaking the first rule of typing, taught to me so many years ago by Mr. Morgan, who always wore a pastel colored jumpsuit, a different shade for each day of the week…. You may take that information as you wish; I had to…. My typing class was on Wednesday during summer break, so we always got the same color to look at, this nauseating shade of lime sherbet (or less discreetly, vomit green)….

Any who, Mr. Morgan was big on posture and proper technique, so sitting straight and keeping one’s wrist arched over the keyboard were considered basic. I’m so tired this morning, and my back is so stiff and sore, I’m listing heavily to the right, and my wrists are resting on the edge of the laptop, moving the fingers without even lifting off where I’m leaning. Sitting straight is what I’d call an impossible dream for me, and leaning on one supportive arm or the other is now a basic rule-of-life to avoid major pain. So, Mr. Morgan can take his posture and technique, and firmly put them where the sun don’t shine….

I suppose I’m going to have to suck it up, and either go back to bed, returning later to finish this, or just get on with it. For now, we’ll push on, and hope we find a pocket of energy down the line a bit. Sometimes they hide….. and then pop up when not expected. Usually, it is at a good time, so I’ll trust to fate today (something I rarely do, deliberately…. as you may know from previous posts, I’m not big on believing that fate is written in stone, so I don’t give in to it very often….)  If this works, all well and good; if not, well,….. fuck it…. Shall we Pearl?…..

“Beware when the great God lets loose a thinker on this planet.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), “Circles”
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Yesterday, I sat down in the afternoon to do some pearl diving, as my stash was getting low. Out of the first ten pearls offered up for my perusal, the following entries, all but one from Smart Bee itself, popped up one after another, just as if they were meant to be together. Upon rearranging the order slightly, I found them to be correct; together they make a fine little old-school pearl. So, without further ado, follow the bouncing thought bubble to the ending point, where you will find yourself in possession of a valuable piece of virtual wisdom…. or possibly, a great deal of confusion…. your choice, both are free of charge….

Although everyone is entitled to be stupid, some abuse this privilege. — Smart Bee

Keep the pointy end forward and the dirty side down. — Smart Bee

I’ll tell you what’s wrong with it, my lad.  It’s dead! — Smart Bee

Tomorrow & tomorrow & tomorrow creeps in this rutabaga… — Smart Bee

Ignorance of one’s ignorance is the greatest ignorance.– Smart Bee

“YOW!!  I’m in a very clever and adorable INSANE ASYLUM!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

I think the final line from Zippy punctuates the idea very well, ending not only with wisdom, but with two exclamation points to drive it home!!…. Such courteous service, you won’t find just anywhere…. Most bloggers would just abandon you, leaving you to figure stuff out on your own. But, not here at gigoid’s house.. we’re all about customer service….. I hope you enjoyed the ride; you may now go on to the next section…..
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Ogden Nash is one of my favorite poets, mainly for his sense of irreverence. Below you will find three poems that demonstrate his mastery in different ways. The second poem, Fleas, is considered to be the shortest poem ever written, and I believe it holds the Guinness Book of Records title for that category….. Enjoy!…..

A Caution To Everybody

Consider the auk;
Becoming extinct because he forgot how to fly, and could only walk.
Consider man, who may well become extinct
Because he forgot how to walk and learned how to fly before he thinked.
~~~~~~~~~
Fleas

Adam
Had’em
~~~~~~~~~
Listen…

There is a knocking in the skull,
An endless silent shout
Of something beating on a wall,
And crying, “Let me out!”

That solitary prisoner
Will never hear reply.
No comrade in eternity
Can hear the frantic cry.

No heart can share the terror
That haunts his monstrous dark.
The light that filters through the chinks
No other eye can mark.

When flesh is linked with eager flesh,
And words run warm and full,
I think that he is loneliest then,
The captive in the skull.

Caught in a mesh of living veins,
In cell of padded bone,
He loneliest is when he pretends
That he is not alone.

We’d free the incarcerate race of man
That such a doom endures
Could only you unlock my skull,
Or I creep into yours.

All three poems by Ogden Nash
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My search for pearls today keeps coming up with stuff more appropriate to the old style; nothing to rant about so far. But the following group of pearls does have a conclusion in mind, and for bonus points, you can tell me your thoughts on that in the comments section below…. good hunting!…. and don’t hurt yourself looking for the point; it won’t be on the quiz……

“I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.” — Stephen Roberts

There is no ornament like virtue,
There is no misery like worry,
There is no protection like patience,
There is no friend equal to generosity.
— Nagarjuna (c. 100-200 A.D.)

When an Agnostic dies, does he go to the Great Perhaps? — Smart Bee, in sardonic mode, tongue firmly planted in cheek….

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

“Is this bullshit or fertilizer?” — Smart Bee

There you go….. hope you have as much fun with it as I did….. and, sorry, if my over-enthusiastic handling of the various parts has caused them to appear somewhat bedraggled…. they’ll fluff out in the sunshine….
___________________________________

Six of one, half-dozen of the other….. that’s how it shakes down around here in the mornings…. This Pearl, though light on original material, feels like a good one, so I’m not going to even think about 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

Dozer

Kowabunga!

We’ll gate crash the Vatican….

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Ffolkes,
Once again, the WordPress community stepped up, and came through to help when someone asked…. My mild whining yesterday morning, regarding site statistics, prompted my regular readers to respond with a veritable avalanche of support and intelligent, compassionate advice. Virtually all of the regulars, minus a couple, commented on yesterday’s post, and all of them were positive, and encouraging. This is, I think, the third or fourth time I’ve had this happen, when I’ve asked a question in the intro,  or commented on a difficulty I was experiencing with my blog, or my life…. each time, the ffolkes who read here often, took the time to comment, with answers and emotional support… it’s actually a very humbling experience.

So, I want to take a moment here to say a big, huge thank you to the ffolkes who wrote in yesterday…. Coming to blog at WordPress has been not only beneficial for that part of me that has to write, and the part that has to read, but also for my heart and soul, simply because of the people like you all who also participate in the WP community. It is people like you who will end up saving this sad old world, if it can be done, with your intelligence, your compassion, and your willingness to spend the effort to help your fellow man, without any thought of reward or gain, merely out of the passion in your heart. I am humbled, often, at your giving natures, and consider it a huge honor to call all of you Friend….

With that said, I should probably start diving for pearls, before I start blubbering like a baby…. my PTSD will do that sometimes, embarrassing me to death by making me burst into tears in the middle of a conversation….. quite degrading to the soul…. rather than have that happen, we will go now to the WWW to start our search… which could take a while, as I don’t have anything saved up, other than some Shakespeare…. hmm, maybe a bit of flaying his hide will serve….. Shall we Pearl?…..

Asking for aid here
always brings hope and advice.
Empowering friends.

gigoid

“Is that you reading me, or is that me being written?” — Smart Bee
___________________________________

“We are inclined to confuse freedom and democracy, which we regard as moral principles, with the way in which these are practiced in America — with capitalism, federalism and the two-party system, which are not moral principles, but simply the accepted practices of the American people.” — Sen. James J. William Fulbright

I remember this Fulbright guy…. he was still spouting off when I was a teenager. I don’t recall any particularly strong feelings of approval at what I heard then from him, other than the normal disdain with which I greeted almost all politics back then. But, what he says here appeals to my current self much more than what I remember from back then. This is a very accurate description of reality in American politics, and the condition of the world in which we now find ourselves can be attributed in large part to this observation’s veracity….

The beloved ruling class has been pounding the minds of the public with manipulative lies for a very long time, and it can be a difficult task to separate the truth and the lies they put out at such an alarming rate. In addition, even doing so is made more difficult by the derisive attacks they make on anyone who dares to question their lies. It’s typical for them to call anyone who questions them a Communist, or a Socialist, or some other -ist, which they think is evil whenever their lies are exposed. Or, like dear Mitt the Twitt said the other day, the people who want to see his taxes are “small minded”… the names they use don’t matter, as they are only calculated to draw attention away from the lies that are being exposed to the light of day….

“The liberal of any species is always more dangerous — because he always seems so much more rational.” — Solomon Short

This statement from Mr. Short is also perceptive, describing accurately the danger of listening to ANY politician…. even the most liberal pundit, by the act of seeking office, gives away their true purpose, not to help the downtrodden, but to gain power and influence for themselves…. They are more dangerous because their lies are designed to make the public believe that they are acting in their interests, looking out for the little guy, when in reality, they are just picking the little guy’s pocket…..

Reduce taxes on rich = trickle down prosperity. — Conservative idea #4

Never cooperate with conservatives. — Liberal Rule #34

Taken together, these two little aphorisms show why, or rather, how, it can be a confusing task to sort the truth from the lies that are served up on a daily basis. Both of these are true, in at least one sense, yet both are also outright lies, made up to demean the opposing party’s position and reputation. It’s kind of funny actually, because not only are these lies, but they are lies that can be fitted to either side like a tailor-made suit. To my way of thinking, both liberals and conservatives are wrong, so it’s easier for me to tell when they are lying…. quite easy, in fact…. if their mouth is open, they’re lying, count on it…..

“Humankind cannot stand very much reality.” — T.S. Eliot

This, from our old friend T.S., can be considered to be a fact, even a natural law, and for proof, just go back and read any historical treatise from any century. It has always been clear, especially to the beloved ruling class, that most folks have no real desire to deal with reality as it is…. they would much rather have it behave as they would like it to do. This tendency toward mental sloth is well-known to our rulers, and they exploit it mercilessly….

The political pundits are constantly telling the public what they want to hear, even though that has nothing to do with what will really take place when they are elected. The weird, sad part for me is that the public falls for it all so easily, and the rapacious and the greedy are constantly rewarded with new terms in Washington D.C., or London, or Sydney, or wherever in the world the election may take place…. If it weren’t so damn depressing, it might be entertaining….

“George Washington said to his father, “If I never tell a lie, how can I get to be President?” — Red Buttons

In any culture, one can ascertain the true state of the society by listening to the comedians…. Red Buttons wasn’t known particularly for his political humor, but with this one he struck closer to home than he knew. Right from the very start of this country, the bankers and the rich have conspired to control the government, and have been singularly effective in that quest. Even the stated fears of the founding fathers were not sufficient to keep them from insinuating themselves into the political process at every level, manipulating the laws, and the courts, to establish themselves as the true rulers of this country. Nobody gets elected who isn’t supposed to be, for they won’t willingly give away any of the control they have gained over time, and the surest way to guarantee that control is to control the elections….

“There cannot be a nation of millionaires, and there never has been a nation of Utopian comrades; but there have been any number of nations of tolerably contented peasants.” — G. K. Chesterton, Outline of Sanity CW. V. 192

SIGH…. I don’t know…. it’s all so tacky! G.K. has probably got it right, but I don’t think I want to settle for tolerable contentment. I can stand a bit more excitement than that, I hope. I’m just so tired of having to watch, as society dumbs itself down further and further with every election, sending the worst possible candidates into the spotlight, and making all of us who want more from life nervous at having to spend another four to eight years keeping our heads down and our defensive strategies up-to-date… I know I am, and I don’t even care much about politics (you wouldn’t know it, by how much I write about it….). Ah well, at least we’ve got cable TV, and the Internet…..

“Politics is poopadoodle!” — Fred the Bird, from Odds Bodkins
___________________________________

A Thing of Beauty (Endymion)

A thing of beauty is a joy for ever:
Its loveliness increases; it will never
Pass into nothingness; but still will keep
A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.
Therefore, on every morrow, are we wreathing
A flowery band to bind us to the earth,
Spite of despondence, of the inhuman dearth
Of noble natures, of the gloomy days,
Of all the unhealthy and o’er-darkn’d ways
Made for our searching: yes, in spite of all,
Some shape of beauty moves away the pall
From our dark spirits. Such the sun, the moon,
Trees old and young, sprouting a shady boon
For simple sheep; and such are daffodils
With the green world they live in; and clear rills
That for themselves a cooling covert make
‘Gainst the hot season; the mid-forest brake,
Rich with a sprinkling of fair musk-rose blooms:
And such too is the grandeur of the dooms
We have imagined for the mighty dead;
An endless fountain of immortal drink,
Pouring unto us from the heaven’s brink.

John Keats

“….. is a joy for ever.”  Truer words were never written, and now I know the origin of the phrase…. true serendipity….  🙂    Enjoy!
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“A can of ASPARAGUS, 73 pigeons, some LIVE ammo, and a FROZEN DAQUIRI!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

At last…. I may have been looking for this all my life. Or not. Either way, it has just jumped into my head, and established itself as the proper combination of plot ingredients for my new book of fiction. What a delightful set of possibilities are opened up by these four little metaphors-to-be! It’s enough to make a grown man sniffle in joy…. Here, watch this….

“It was hot. Damn hot, and the frozen daiquiri looked as cool and refreshing as the smile of the girl who served it. I watched appreciatively as she bent to set it down, giving in to the tempting invitation to gaze at her….. face.   🙂   Just as I was about to ask her where I could get some live ammo, I was distracted by a huge rushing sound, as if an entire flock of pigeons had begun to circle my head; it sounded like at least 73 of them…. I couldn’t be sure. It might have been only 71; it was a very loud bar. Bending my head to read the menu, I had gotten no further than, “We proudly serve canned asparagus” when my cell phone rang….”

There, now isn’t that riveting? And that was just one outline…. using another outline, putting the metaphors in different order, will give me at least 12 other plot lines, no sweat. I love it when a plan comes together, especially when there was no plan. It just dropped right into my lap….. Uh oh…. I just realized something….. Dropped into my lap…. by whom? Shit. I was so damn pleased at finding such a brilliant stimulus package, I forgot to examine it for traces of Murphy…. Hang on a moment while I run this through the wonk-o-meter….. It will only take a minute; it warms up fast….

I should have known….. This has Murphy’s mark all over it. Damn! Now if I use it, it will end up causing me no end of controversy and embarrassment…. SFPCCC!  (They’re swear words… you don’t want to know…..)  Just when I thought I was done…. True to his habit, and his nature, Murphy has waited for just the right moment to slip this into my head, right when I was primed to not look at it too closely….. Whew! I dodged a big bullet that time! I’m glad I caught it before it went any further… my keyboard would probably have exploded the next time I wrote something that used it as a basis for a plot. Ah well, it was enough to count as the pearl for this section, so I guess all’s well that ends well…..

Though I am young, I scorn to flit
On the wings of borrowed wit.
— George Wither (1588-1667) — The Shepherd’s Hunting
___________________________________

Well, this is another one…. it’s not like the other one. Much…..I hope….. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!

Emerald green tofu makes better ballast…..

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Ffolkes,
All attempts to establish routine are now considered futile; only random acts that resist routine will be allowed. And damn! I wish I could find a comfortable chair in which to sit…. Yes, I know that sounds stilted and pompous, but grammar is grammar, so whattya gonna do?

Any who, back to routine, or lack thereof….. Waking in the middle of the night, sobbing over a dream, is not what I’d call conducive to making a routine. It took me an hour, and two or four solid shots to get back to a state where I could fall asleep again, and consequently gave me a late start this morning…..SIGH…. (That’s a west-county Irish sigh, a long full breath, and slow exhale, accompanied by a sorrowful expression and a sad shake of the head….)

I should probably be getting used to this randomness in my life; not having to work, or to spend any significant time worrying about what other folks need or want, is both the greatest perk, and the most stinging curse of retirement. The outer world no longer has a say in when I do something, or even what I do. I make my own schedule, and thus have no one to blame if it doesn’t suit me…. which, I’m sure you can see, is a reflection of that blessing/curse relationship. Ah well, such is life….

Since I’m late, and will be later, given the upcoming events this morning, we should get to the searching portion of the process, as it is the most time-consuming part. So…. shall we Pearl? Anything has got to be better than what has been happening thus far…..

“A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.” — Lao-Tzu, Tao Teh Ching
___________________________________

The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord. — Old Testament — Job i, 21

I don’t know if it actually was Job who first said this particular phrase, but, given what God eventually did to him, all on a bet with Satan, it could have been…. If so, it goes to show, one shouldn’t go too long in the desert sun without finding some shade….

Here we have a statement that purports to provide reason for worship, a justification of why we should bow our heads in prayer to the heavens…. in short it says, “God is unpredictable, and omnipotent; it makes good sense to kowtow to Him…. he likes appeasement.” Well, maybe not, but you get the idea. We are theoretically in the power of a mad God, one who will fuck with his creation at the drop of a hat, just to entertain himself and the Devil over a wager.

He put Job through some outrageous times…. boils, plagues, genocide, hordes of locusts, deformity, God really did a number on Job, trying to see if his mind-conditioning would hold…. Since, according to the story, Job did hold out, and suffered all he did at God’s hand, and still wouldn’t curse him, we see that it did hold fast. What a dolt he must have been! No, I meant Job, but you may be right…. God surely acted like a dickhead in this one….

Sorry, but along about the third time God took everything away from me (had I been his chosen target instead of that stubborn boob, Job…), I would have started trying to figure out some way to fire back a few warning rounds, just to let Him know I’d had enough of that kind of treatment. A certain amount of leeway should be given, of course, but nobody gets more than three, I don’t care who they think they are…. By the act of persecution of Job, in my mind, He gave up any rights to worship, or even belief…. and He ought to know that, as he made me the way I am (according to the theory as given in Genesis).

I’d make this piece longer, but I think I’ve probably offended the Christians out there enough for one day…. also, the next section is a great poem, by my favorite poet, and I’d as soon you read it all, long as it is…. onward…..
___________________________________

This poem is rather long…. but I hope you read it all; it’s a great follow to the previous pearl, and well worth the time it takes….. enjoy!

A Tale Of The Thirteenth Floor

The hands of the clock were reaching high
In an old midtown hotel;
I name no name, but its sordid fame
Is table talk in hell.
I name no name, but hell’s own flame
Illumes the lobby garish,
A gilded snare just off Times Square
For the maidens of the parish.

The revolving door swept the grimy floor
Like a crinoline grotesque,
And a lowly bum from an ancient slum
Crept furtively past the desk.
His footsteps sift into the lift
As a knife in the sheath is slipped,
Stealthy and swift into the lift
As a vampire into a crypt.

Old Maxie, the elevator boy,
Was reading an ode by Shelley,
But he dropped the ode as it were a toad
When the gun jammed into his belly.
There came a whisper as soft as mud
In the bed of an old canal:
“Take me up to the suite of Pinball Pete,
The rat who betrayed my gal.”

The lift doth rise with groans and sighs
Like a duchess for the waltz,
Then in middle shaft, like a duchess daft,
It changes its mind and halts.
The bum bites lip as the landlocked ship
Doth neither fall nor rise,
But Maxie the elevator boy
Regards him with burning eyes.
“First, to explore the thirteenth floor,”
Says Maxie, “would be wise.”

Quoth the bum, “There is moss on your double cross,
I have been this way before,
I have cased the joint at every point,
And there is no thirteenth floor.
The architect he skipped direct
From twelve unto fourteen,
There is twelve below and fourteen above,
And nothing in between,
For the vermin who dwell in this hotel
Could never abide thirteen.”

Said Max, “Thirteen, that floor obscene,
Is hidden from human sight;
But once a year it doth appear,
On this Walpurgis Night.
Ere you peril your soul in murderer’s role,
Heed those who sinned of yore;
The path they trod led away from God,
And onto the thirteenth floor,
Where those they slew, a grisly crew,
Reproach them forevermore.

“We are higher than twelve and below fourteen,”
Said Maxie to the bum,
“And the sickening draft that taints the shaft
Is a whiff of kingdom come.
The sickening draft that taints the shaft
Blows through the devil’s door!”
And he squashed the latch like a fungus patch,
And revealed the thirteenth floor.

It was cheap cigars like lurid scars
That glowed in the rancid gloom,
The murk was a-boil with fusel oil
And the reek of stale perfume.
And round and round there dragged and wound
A loathsome conga chain,
The square and the hep in slow lock step,
The slayer and the slain.
(For the souls of the victims ascend on high,
But their bodies below remain.)

The clean souls fly to their home in the sky,
But their bodies remain below
To pursue the Cain who each has slain
And harry him to and fro.
When life is extinct each corpse is linked
To its gibbering murderer,
As a chicken is bound with wire around
The neck of a killer cur.

Handcuffed to Hate come Doctor Waite
(He tastes the poison now),
And Ruth and Judd and a head of blood
With horns upon its brow.
Up sashays Nan with her feathery fan
From Floradora bright;
She never hung for Caesar Young
But she’s dancing with him tonight.

Here’s the bulging hip and the foam-flecked lip
Of the mad dog, Vincent Coll,
And over there that ill-met pair,
Becker and Rosenthal,
Here’s Legs and Dutch and a dozen such
Of braggart bullies and brutes,
And each one bends ‘neath the weight of friends
Who are wearing concrete suits.

Now the damned make way for the double-damned
Who emerge with shuffling pace
From the nightmare zone of persons unknown,
With neither name nor face.
And poor Dot King to one doth cling,
Joined in a ghastly jig,
While Elwell doth jape at a goblin shape
And tickle it with his wig.

See Rothstein pass like breath on a glass,
The original Black Sox kid;
He riffles the pack, riding piggyback
On the killer whose name he hid.
And smeared like brine on a slavering swine,
Starr Faithful, once so fair,
Drawn from the sea to her debauchee,
With the salt sand in her hair.

And still they come, and from the bum
The icy sweat doth spray;
His white lips scream as in a dream,
“For God’s sake, let’s away!
If ever I meet with Pinball Pete
I will not seek his gore,
Lest a treadmill grim I must trudge with him
On the hideous thirteenth floor.”

“For you I rejoice,” said Maxie’s voice,
“And I bid you go in peace,
But I am late for a dancing date
That nevermore will cease.
So remember, friend, as your way you wend,
That it would have happened to you,
But I turned the heat on Pinball Pete;
You see – I had a daughter, too!”

The bum reached out and he tried to shout,
But the door in his face was slammed,
And silent as stone he rode down alone
From the floor of the double-damned.

Ogden Nash
___________________________________

The following is an old-school pearl, with a specific thought in mind for you to deduce….. for the sake of everyone’s blood pressure, that specific thought will be revealed at the end…. I don’t usually, but thought I’d give a treat, just ’cause I’m a nice guy…. really, I am……

Child:  “Supreme Being, why is there evil in the world?”
Supreme Being (Sir John Gielgud in a Savile Row suit): “Oh, dear, I can’t remember, exactly. . . something to do with free will, I believe.”
— Terry Gilliam, _The Time Bandits_

“The character of human life, like the character of the human condition, like the character of all life, is “ambiguity”: the inseparable mixture of good and evil, the true and false, the creative and destructive forces — both individual and social.” — Paul Tillich

Halfway down the stairs
Is a stair
Where I sit.
There isn’t any
Other stair
Quite like
It.
I’m not at the bottom,
I’m not at the top;
So this is the stair
Where
I always
Stop.
— A.A. Milne

“Belief gets in the way of learning.” — Robert Heinlein, Time Enough for Love

“Truth, in the matters of religion, is simply the opinion that has survived.” — Oscar Wilde

“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

You may be asking yourself at this point, just what have I gotten myself into? Well, relax, it’s no big deal….. all of the foregoing is intended to lead you to the following….. which WILL be on the quiz…..

An it harms none, do what thou will. — Wiccan Credo

Alternate answer, also correct:

There’s little in taking or giving,
There’s little in water or wine:
This living, this living, this living,
Was never a project of mine.
Oh, hard is the struggle, and sparse is
The gain of the one at the top,
For art is a form of catharsis,
And love is a permanent flop,
And work is the province of cattle,
And rest’s for a clam in a shell,
So I’m thinking of throwing the battle —
Would you kindly direct me to hell?

— Dorothy Parker

“Birth, school, work, death.  About sums it up, I think.” — Smart Bee
___________________________________

For a rush job, this didn’t come out too badly…. it will have to do, anyway, so let’s 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

Dozer

Kowabunga!

These statistical triumphs are fabulous!….

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Reply

Ffolkes,
What we have here…. is a failure… to germinate. So sad….. Actually, it’s germinating just fine. Seeds are like that; a bit of dirt, a little water, some sunshine, and voilá, germination! Now, if only there were some seeds germinating in my head, I’d be set for good. Alas, we should be so lucky…..

Sans germinating ideas, this intro section can turn on me at the drop of a simile, and apparently, has already done so. At this point, I have absolutely no idea what is going to come out next…. It could be a BEM (Bug Eyed Monster, to those of you not up on SF slang…). It could be another poem. (No, no, anything but that!….just shoot me now, please…..) It could be a fictional opening to a story. (If any were there to write down….) Or, it could be a series of paragraphs, each just a bit stranger than the last, all leading up to the usual point, where I give up, and we get started…..

I suppose strange is a relative term, and I ought not to consider it as an insult. In fact, given the rest of my life up to this point in time, I should probably consider it as encouragement, or perhaps, justification. For what, I don’t know, but, hey, it’s my party, and I can be ignorant if I want to be, so there…. Okay, now we’ve devolved into childish insults…. it must be time for the throwing up of the hands in disgust…. hold on, I need to step away from the computer to do this….. There, it’s done. I’ve washed my hands of this intro, and shall henceforth consider it as a part of the past, and no longer under my aegis…..

See? I told ya…. it worked out just the way I said it would, and here we are, finally arrived at the point where I look up with all innocence, and say, “Shall we Pearl?”….. you just nod your head, and move on to the next section…. well, go on…. you’d best go now, you’ll be alone if you stay here, and I won’t take responsibility if you get in trouble here on your own….. GO!!!!
___________________________________

If God didn’t make homosexuals, there wouldn’t be any. ~~ Very Smart Bee

Aha! At last! I have found the answer to all those bigoted, so-called Christians, with their strident complaints about gay marriage being a threat to society, and the whole ridiculous skein of unfounded fears rooted in their own ignorance. Just mention the above to them, and watch them turn purple, as they try, over and over, to find some logical way to refute this…. which they can’t.

If they are going to insist on having an omnipotent God, then they can’t be telling him what He should and shouldn’t do, because He’s already done it…. This is a perfectly sound piece of doctrine, which I’m sure any Jesuit would tell you is so obvious, it could be considered dogma. They can’t have it both ways…. either there is a God, and homosexuals are part of the plan he has in place…. or there isn’t, and they need to find a whole new theory of the universe to follow, because this one won’t fly…..

“Do you think God gets stoned?  I think so…look at the Platypus.” — Robin Williams

I think it’s a lot more likely that what Robin says here is true; if there is a God, why wouldn’t he get stoned? Of course, those who have experienced the state of being stoned can make an informed judgment on that issue. Anyone who has never done so really has no right to an opinion, do they?

Aside from the simple, irrefutable fact that they, being mortal, cannot fathom God, or anything about Him/Her, how could they possibly have an opinion on something they’ve never experienced? I ask that question rhetorically, of course; they believe they have the right to sound off on anything they don’t understand, since, as they believe, they are the Lords of Creation…. what a crock!

“Faith means intense, usually confident, belief that is not based on evidence sufficient to command assent from every reasonable person.” — Walter Kaufmann

This pearl comes from the old school… it makes a point that logically becomes the next step in this little piece of satire… the point being this: The folks who spend their time fiddling with religion are pursuing a dream, one that has no basis in reality, according to all the evidence.

This kind of blind faith has a name these days, and that name is “delusional”, defined as holding on to a belief after being presented with absolute proof of its falsehood. Couple this delusional frame of mind with a strong sense of denial, and you have an entire segment of the population that is immune to change…. and we all know what the Universe does to any part of it that refuses to change, don’t we?…..

“I guess the rule is, if something’s too good to be true, then it’s probably too good to be true.” — Marshall, The ATM Machine, Eerie Indiana

And that’s the Truth! So, there! Thpppht! ~~ The little girl in the chair… (Lily Tomlin)
___________________________________

Since the last pearl touched on the old school, I think I’ll make this pearl completely old school…. Here are some pearls that together form an idea, one that is always handy to have in one’s arsenal in the fight to hold our place in reality….. or at least to reluctantly accept it as it is…..

“A man who carries a cat by the tail is getting experience that will always be helpful.  He isn’t likely to grow dim or doubtful.  Chances are, he isn’t likely to carry the cat that way again, either.  But if he wants to, I say let him!” — Mark Twain

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops at all.

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I’ve heard it in the chillest land
And on the strangest sea,
Yet never in extremity
It asked a crumb of me.

— Emily Dickinson

“Hope cannot be said to exist, nor can it be said not to exist. It is just like the roads across the earth. For actually there were no roads to begin with, but when many people pass one way a road is made.” — Lu Hsun

“We live only to discover beauty. All else is a form of waiting.” — Kahlil Gibran

“America!!  I saw it all!!  Vomiting!  Waving!  JERRY FALWELLING into your void tube of UHF oblivion!!  SAFEWAY of the mind –” — Zippy the Pinhead

Lastly, we turn once again to that philosophical genius, Lily T, to bring us home in style……

“The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win, you’re still a rat.” — Lily Tomlin
___________________________________

“A little rudeness and disrespect can elevate a meaningless interaction to a battle of wills and add drama to an otherwise dull day.” — Calvin

Ah, politics! Calvin (of Calvin & Hobbes, I believe….) has accurately stated the operating techniques of both parties in this election. I was amazed the other day when the Republican candidates started to harp on how mean and unfair the other side was being. Talk about two kettles calling the pots black!

I also had to laugh when the Democrats got called out for demanding to see the taxes that Romney continues to withhold; he really thinks he is going to get away with not showing them, and doesn’t seem to have a clue as to how much damage it causes his campaign every time he refuses to show them…. I don’t know why, because he reads the polls, and every time he puts it off again, he drops points; it’s a direct correlation, but he doesn’t seem to know, or care….. idiot….

“That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all the lessons of history.” — Aldous Huxley (1894-1963), Collected Essays

Romney and Ryan keep accusing Obama of stealing money from Social Security, when the Congressional Report on the plan shows this to be completely false.  John Sunnunu, governor of something or other, a life-time political hack, got his sails trimmed by a CNN reporter, on air, who kept throwing this falsehood back in his face…. he ended up resorting to name-calling, and continued to try to blame the POTUS for everything. Even when it was pointed out to him that the Ryan Plan and the Romney Plan were the same, and both contained tax cuts for the rich, he tried to say they were different…. another idiot….

“I have been thinking that I would make a proposition to my Republican friends…that if they will stop telling lies about the Democrats, we  will stop telling the truth about them.” — Adlai Stevenson

Or was it Joe Biden who said that? Well, he could have…. What Mr. Stevenson says here is all too true, even today, though he doesn’t quite make it all the way to honesty, as he implies that only the Democrats tell the truth. In fact, BOTH parties are more comfortable telling us lies than they are with the truth; it is fortunate for us that the WWW has provided us with a way to keep the truth at the forefront of any issue, no matter how many times one of the pundits, right or left, tries to convince us that the lies they are telling are truth. For those libertarians to whom truth is more important than personal comfort, the web has been a true gift of the gods…..

“The only sure bulwark of continuing liberty is  a government strong enough to protect the interests of the people, and a people strong enough and well enough informed to maintain its sovereign control over the government.” — Franklin Delano Roosevelt

These are perfect words to bring this to a close…. We, the citizens of this democracy, have the responsibility of making ourselves aware of the truth, and to insist on that truth being acknowledged by the government, whichever party may be incumbent. If we do not take the time to investigate what they tell us, and accept what they say as truth, without checking, then we deserve whatever kind of government we get.

I can’t stress enough that people need to be aware that politicians, of both varieties, DO NOT HAVE OUR BEST INTERESTS AT HEART….. Elected officials only have their own interests at heart; this has been proven over and over, and really isn’t arguable. But, as long as people continue to act as if the pundits care about them, then they will continue to get the shaft…. and deservedly so…..

“TAPPING?  You POLITICIANS!  Don’t you realize that the END of the “Wash Cycle” is a TREASURED MOMENT for most people?!” — Zippy the Pinhead
___________________________________

I was right in the intro…. it kind of got away from me…. But, I think I managed to pull it all together, with only moderate use of duct tape…. It’s going to have to do, because, well, because it will….. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you….

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

 

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!

The Grand Vizier wishes to be disturbed….

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Ffolkes,
Yesterday afternoon,  I sat down with the urge to write. A number of fleeting images chased each other around in my head, vying for who would be first to fly…. after some negotiations, I wrote what appeared to be a paragraph of prose in an abstract style, re-read it, scratched my head, and left it alone for the night…..

This morning, when I sat down to start today’s Pearl, the paragraph was still there…. but it had changed somehow in the night…. I don’t know if it is my mind that changed, or the paragraph, but all of a sudden, it wasn’t a paragraph….. a few strokes, a couple of format and structural changes, and voilá, it’s a poem!  Completely finished, too, needing nothing more from me…. I’ll call it….

Serendipity Morning

My mind wants to fly,
my soul wants to hold close, the source,
strong, the moments of time;
each as precious as golden thread,
binding together such elements of longing desire.

Love hovers, always patient,
seeking the open heart,
reaching for the promise of tomorrow…..
only for one, only for now, only what is real….
Dreaming, the morning calls,
heavy with mordant belief,
replete, and eternally alive…..

gigoid

I just love it when a plan comes together…. especially when there is no plan…..  🙂     Shall we Pearl?…..
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“I want to dress you up as TALLULAH BANKHEAD and cover you with VASELINE and WHEAT THINS..” — Zippy the Pinhead

After starting with a poem I wrote myself (a rare occurrence, indeed….), the universal law of dichotomy comes into play, as things will become unbalanced without some alternative, oppositional action, and what better candidate for that than Zippy? Just look at this quote….. absolute nonsense, in terms of the real world, yet you, and I, will both check our supplies of both Vaseline AND Wheat Thins, just to be sure…… You don’t want to let Zippy loose in your cupboards to look for himself, believe me! I did one time, and never did find my coffee maker, or my toaster…..

Zippy has brought many an hour of relaxation, and a grin to my face for as many years as I can remember, which is, sad to say, a lot of years now. After a hard day of dealing with the vicissitudes of life (love that word!…. vicissitudes… it just rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it?…..), I know I can come home, pull off my shoes and socks, and know that a few minutes of Zippy will soothe and soften my fevered brow, even better than beer….. though not better than bourbon…. but, then, what is? Nothing, that’s what….

Of course, I can’t afford to drink bourbon too often any more, and not just because of finances…. I find myself of late not merely not enjoying the buzz that comes with a couple fingers of the beast, but actively disliking the physical symptoms that go along with any such imbibing…. not to mention the morning after, which nowadays hits me like a runaway train. If I consume more than two cocktails, the headache and body malaise the next morning is like a short visit to Hell, without the extreme heat, but with the pain and anguish, and a heavy feeling of regret…. So, these days, rather than live with either regrets, or hangovers, I’ve pretty much curtailed most of my alcohol consumption, an act for which my liver is probably dancing for joy….

Now that we have meandered down some rather unbeaten paths in my head for a time, I think maybe we should go on to something a bit more constructive… or at least funnier…. I don’t know what it is, but a dose of Zippy brings out my pedagogy, along with a tendency toward pomposity, that shows up in what I write, no matter how silly I get…. but four paragraphs, all about nothing, really, is quite enough for one day…. So, let me leave you with one more Zippyism, and we’ll go on to bigger, better things, or at the very least, something else….

“I’m having BEAUTIFUL THOUGHTS about the INSIPID WIVES of smug and wealthy CORPORATE LAWYERS.” — Zippy the Pinhead
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Come On In, The Senility Is Fine

People live forever in Jacksonville and St. Petersburg and Tampa,
But you don’t have to live forever to become a grampa.
The entrance requirements for grampahood are comparatively mild,
You only have to live until your child has a child.
From that point on you start looking both ways over your shoulder,
Because sometimes you feel thirty years younger and sometimes
thirty years older.
Now you begin to realize who it was that reached the height of
imbecility,
It was whoever said that grandparents have all the fun and none of
the responsibility.
This is the most enticing spiderwebs of a tarradiddle ever spun,
Because everybody would love to have a baby around who was no
responsibility and lots of fun,
But I can think of no one but a mooncalf or a gaby
Who would trust their own child to raise a baby.
So you have to personally superintend your grandchild from diapers
to pants and from bottle to spoon,
Because you know that your own child hasn’t sense enough to come
in out of a typhoon.
You don’t have to live forever to become a grampa, but if you do
want to live forever,
Don’t try to be clever;
If you wish to reach the end of the trail with an uncut throat,
Don’t go around saying Quote I don’t mind being a grampa but I
hate being married to a gramma Unquote.

Ogden Nash

A little paean to my new age-group…. age appropriate, I’d say, but not yet dead….. Enjoy!……
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“Nothing in the world is more flexible and yielding than water. Yet when it attacks the firm and the strong, none can withstand it, because they have no way to change it. So the flexible overcome the adamant, the yielding overcome the forceful. Everyone knows this, but no one can do it.” — Lao-Tzu

Water…. the power of water is unmatched over time; just ask the Grand Canyon. Water ties us to the universe; our physical make-up depends on it for survival, as well as mere existence. It is so soft, and yielding, yet cannot be destroyed at all; one can only cause it to change form, from ice, to water, to steam, all of which hold the same properties as the middle state, though slightly differently interpreted. Most important, to the scholar’s mind, is its nature…. emulating its spirit, becoming like water, is the goal of almost all meditation practice, as well as a goal of the martial artist….

“My writing is like a ten gallon spring.  It can issue from the ground anywhere at all.  On smooth ground it rushes swiftly on and covers a thousand li in a single day without difficulty.  When it twists and turns among mountains and rocks, it fits its form to things it meets: unknowable. What can be known is, it always goes where it must go, always stops where it cannot help stopping — nothing else. More than that, even I cannot know.” — Su Shih

One of the most powerful of concepts in martial arts is the emulation of water. The student is taught to learn how to move like water, to move with the rhythm of the universe as energy flows from one point to another. One of the most valuable techniques I’ve seen to teach this lesson is one where the student stands in a balanced stance, one foot forward; the arms are held in front of the body, as if holding a large ball. The student then moves his weight from the back foot to the front foot, then back again, while moving the ball in a slow circle, pushed away when moving forward, and brought back when the weight shifts to the rear….

The trick to learn is to be like the tide, accepting the water as it flows in to its highest point, then moving with it as it irresistibly flows back into the sea, as the weight moves to the front foot. A smooth shifting of the weight, and finding the correct rhythm teaches both balance, and strength, and the power of moving like water…. Learning to use gravity as an ally, instead of a limitation, gives one an unimaginable advantage over one who does not know how to do so….

In addition to the physical lessons that water has to teach us, it also provides the intellect with a subject of study, to find the nature of water in its most real state. Learning the nature of water brings us closer to an understanding of all nature, and how we may fit into it with the most benevolent, and beneficial attitudes.

The path of least resistance, followed by water as it flows downhill, teaches us to learn to find the same path for ourselves. The immutability of water teaches us how to resist changes to our nature, while remaining in touch with those parts of the universe that are within all of us…. And the flexibility of water teaches us to remain flexible ourselves, to learn to recognize when it is time to be ice, when it is time to be steam, and when it is time to flow like water in its normal state…..

Joshu asked the teacher Nansen, “What is the True Way?”

Nansen answered, “Every way is the true Way.”

Joshu asked, “Can I study it?”

Nansen answered, “The more you study, the further from the Way.”

Joshu asked, “If I don’t study it, how can I know it?”

Nansen answered, “The Way does not belong to things seen: nor to things  unseen. It does not belong to things known: nor to things unknown. Do not  seek it, study it, or name it. To find yourself on it, open yourself as wide as the sky.”
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It’s another fine mess I’ve created here this morning, I think….. It really doesn’t matter, because I’m posting it no matter how it looks from this end; I may even go back to bed afterwards…… Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you……

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

 

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!

Platitudes, coated in platinum…..

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Ffolkes,
Dark, worrisome thoughts chase each other around my brain. My heart trips and stutters, echoing the panic felt in every piece of bone and gristle. Shadowy forms fill the edges of perception, fleeing when I whip my head to see them. My tears flow, unrelieved, filling my head with fluids, and my soul with pain….

Yes, it’s yet another visit from my PTSD, in all its glory. It is now 0150, and I’ve been up, sobbing, for an hour now…. there are times when I come very close to regret, something I swore to never feel, for all my past activities that contributed to how I feel now. Like Albert Einstein said once, “if I had known, I would have become a watchmaker.” Anything would be better than this….

Ah well, since I’m up, and sleep looks like a distant memory for tonight, I may as well go diving for pearls…. When I’m under water, the tears don’t seem like such a big deal…. and who knows? I might find something to help myself feel better…. it wouldn’t take much, believe me, as I feel just about as bad as I can….. Shall we Pearl?….. I think we’d better….
___________________________________

True is suffering; this is true cause;
this is true cessation; this is the true path.

Know the sufferings; give up they causes;
attain the cessation of the suffering; follow the true paths.

Know the sufferings although there is nothing to know;
relinquish the causes of misery although there is nothing to relinquish;
be earnest in cessation although there is nothing to cease;
practice the means of cessation although there is nothing to practice.
— Buddha, The Four Noble Truths

To look at this, one would think that it would be helpful in my current state…. but, y’know what? I could give a shit…. the way my mind is working just now, I look at this, and all I can say is… “BULLSHIT!” 

None of this sits lightly on my mind, and would normally sink deep for contemplation. In my current state of mind, though, all I can see is the BS factor; it’s just way too convoluted, and makes the assumption that one is capable of making these types of adjustments to thought patterns.
Well, guess what? I ain’t capable of anything remotely emotionless when I’m in this state… I defy the most advanced yogini or Buddhist to maintain equilibrium under these conditions. Let them face a few days of unrelenting pain, and the mean streets of life when one is poor in money, and see how they do at being serene under those conditions….

I can see now that today’s Pearl is going to end up a bit dark…. I think it’s time for a little poetry…..
___________________________________

A door just opened on a street–
I, lost, was passing by–
An instant’s width of warmth disclosed
And wealth, and company.

The door as sudden shut, and I,
I, lost, was passing by,–
Lost doubly, but by contrast most,
Enlightening misery.

~~ Emily Dickinson

Hmm…. I like it, but it doesn’t do much to relieve the darkness, does it? Ah well, c’est la vie…. we’ll just go on, and do the best we can….

Time passes…..

And our best was just good enough to crawl back into bed at 0345. The PTSD attack seems to be done, but now I am awake again, there is some lingering depression; I can feel it, hanging in the background, just waiting to pounce at the first sign of weakness… In this state,  it is much like a predator, hiding in the tall grass, just waiting for me to walk in the wrong direction, and into its waiting jaws. This calls for drastic measures….. Hmm, which shall I use? Bourbon for breakfast? Or a massive injection of humor? Let’s leave it up to Smart Bee, and the first relevant quote I can find will tell me which will work better….
___________________________________

O father, what a hell of witchcraft lies
In the small orb of one particular tear.
— William Shakespeare (1564-1616), Sonnets & other Poetry — A Lover’s Complaint, Line 288

I knew it! I knew if I kept at it long enough, I would find something written by Will Shakespeare that actually makes some sense. And I was right! The above couplet actually does make sense…. not only some sense, but written in an attractive, cohesive manner, in words that all fit together, and point in the same direction. For Will, that is indeed a rare occurrence.

This even has layers of meaning in it, which I’m sure Will didn’t plan; it just came out that way. It does cheer me up a smidgen, though, so it also has that in its favor…. enjoy this little bit of actual writing from mein herr Shakespeare, you won’t see too many like it, no matter how long you search….. I guarantee! (To enjoy the full effect, that last word should be said very loudly, in an Acadian (Cajun) accent…..)

An hour before the worshipp’d sun
Peered forth the golden window of the east.
— William Shakespeare (1564-1616), Romeo and Juliet — Act i, Sc. 1

Look! Look! It’s another one! And just when I thought I was done, this pops up….. I am impressed. Two in one day…. but, then, Romeo and Juliet IS the best work he ever did, so it makes sense that a couplet from its interior would fare better than one from, say, Troilus and Cressida, one of the most impenetrable pieces I ever saw…. Any who, enjoy these while you can, because I already have almost another dozen examples of his normal, terrible stuff saved up for use in the future, when I’m feeling cranky….

“Action is eloquence.” — William Shakespeare

Damn if Smart Bee wasn’t hiding another one…. this one actually could be described as “good”, as well as “deep”….. I’m impressed. But, I must remind you, this is merely three examples of good stuff from Will. I’ve already given at least 10 times as many examples of his normal, terrible stuff, and, at this very moment, have nine examples ready for publication…. the odds aren’t improving much, if these three are the best I can find….
___________________________________

“Here I am in the POSTERIOR OLFACTORY LOBULE but I don’t see CARL SAGAN anywhere!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

Ah, Zippy! The true master of language! I genuflect in awe at his many proclamations of intense feeling, and insane, yet haunting, exclamations of joy, nonsensical as they may be. The fact that none of those feelings have anything to do with reality just makes them more charming, to my eye. No matter what he says, it is the kind of statement that makes one think, “Wow. I’ll bet there is a good back story on that!”  Well, either that, or, “You lost me again, Zip…..”  But, no matter what he says, one must admire him, and his creator, Bill Griffiths, for the unrelenting dedication to absolute chaos and the power of entropy in reality…. Zippy’s adventures are ALWAYS obtuse, and filled with lack of meaning, a real treat to us who are stuck in the real thing….

    For those of you out there who would like to enjoy Zippy and his adventures in reality, you might find the following web site to be helpful… it tells how to understand Zippy in Six Easy Lessons….  http://www.zippythepinhead.com/pages/aaaunderstanding.html

I had intended this to be a bonus pearl, having somewhat chopped up the first part due to incipient semi-psychotic behavior, and from a certain viewpoint, it is a bonus. (Remember in Star Wars, when Ben Kenobi tells Luke about his father, he says, “from a certain viewpoint”, to justify his lies to Luke….) Whether the bonus is appreciated, or merely tolerated, is entirely up to you, as always… But, I must ask, before you make your decision, consider the difficulty factor of today’s dive for pearls, hindered and manipulated as it was by my somewhat bedraggled, middle of the night panic attack. Hopefully, that will add a charitable factor to the judging process, and keep the score respectable.

If not, well, then, piss on it…. I’m done here, anyway….
___________________________________

For a treatise that took about seven or eight hours to complete, this has a somewhat unkempt feeling to it, like I didn’t brush my hair, or my teeth, or something. But, it does not matter a whit, as I am NOT going back and starting over. I’ve lost enough sleep today already, and editing would most likely put me right over the edge…. Y’all take care out there, and May the Metaphorse be with you…..

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

gigoid

Dozer

Kowabunga!

Mighty fancy footwork, pilgrim….

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Ffolkes,
Fast forward a few spaces….. there.! See it? It’s all broken, and we paid a bundle for those! That blasted driver did that deliberately! What are we going to tell the boss? Boy, he’s going to shit a brick when he sees this!….. Maybe we can get it replaced before….uh oh, I guess not…. Hi,  boss! Long time no see….. What, no, it’s not important, just a delivery that came overnight…. yeah, we know…. okay, I’ll get the boys started cleaning it up, while you call the vendor….

I suppose it might be interesting to stick around and hear the conversation with the vendor, but I’m not feeling curmudgeonly enough yet to pull off a conversation…. gotta have some angst in there for that to happen easily, and I’m keeping my angst at a minimum these days. Moving is going to be enough of a pain without getting all weirded out by it, thank you very much. 

I started the process yesterday, checking out potential places, and put in a good 4 miles of walking to do so…. not bad for an old fat guy with a limp….. I can see I’ll need to do a bit more looking online, and map out a route to use the buses to get there…. SIGH…. such a pain, when I just want to relax and read my books….

No more complaining, I swear…. I’m tired of hearing it myself. It’s probably for the best if we just get on with the business for which we are gathered this morning, yes? Yes…. Shall we Pearl?…..

Disclaimer: The following may contain coarse and violent nudity.  Occasional language will also be encountered…..
___________________________________

“Calling him a pea brain would be an undeserved compliment.” — Smart Bee

Many of you who have visited here before will know, by this statement, exactly who will be our subject for dissection, er, discussion today. That’s right, Mitt the Twitt, who has been out there meeting and greeting the public, and living up to my expectations once more…. He has started to harp upon a piece of legislation in Wisconsin, I believe, or maybe Ohio…. some state, anyway…. that the Obama administration initiated via the Attorney General’s office.

Unfortunately for him, he is once again harping on a lie; he says the legislation is an attempt to limit the vote of military personnel, claiming Obama is anti-military. It’s really too bad for him that this isn’t true; in fact, it is the opposite of what he claims…. the legislation protects the voting rights of the military voters, as well as the other citizens who were affected by the law it proposes to overturn… a law initiated and pushed through by a Republican coalition…..

“Admit nothing, deny everything, and launch counter-accusations.” — Smart Bee

I was certain Mitt would continue to stick his foot where he seems to like it, (firmly entrenched in his mouth), and he didn’t disappoint…… He kept repeating this blatant untruth several times on Sunday, only stopping when it was pointed out to him by his own people that he was wrong. Now, of course, he is ignoring it altogether…. a typical ploy to get people to talk about anything other than his missing tax returns.

Which, by the way, isn’t working, as more and more Republicans are making pointed remarks about it. In a way, it reminds me of a little boy, trying to keep from having to admit to Mom he’d been in the cookie jar, while having cookie crumbs all over his face and fingers. It might be cute, if it wasn’t so pathetic in an adult….

“He who confesses to small faults hopes you’ll think he has no big ones.” — Smart Bee (Hmm, SB is really on the ball today….)

Mitt’s mouth has gotten him in so much trouble, both open and shut, that his handlers have gagged him. A full search of the front page of the SF Chronicle news site, SFGATE, shows that there are NO stories being pursued this morning, on either the presumptive candidate, nor the POTUS. Neither Romney nor Obama were mentioned anywhere on the front page. The landing of the newest Mars rover (successfully, YAY!….), the latest crazy white man gunning down innocent people of color, and the Olympics are the top stories today.

For a politician, this is extreme hiding…. the trick for them is to get their name out there, so people are talking about him, and he remains in the forefront of the national eye. For a candidate for any office, NO news is bad news…. and in this case, is most likely due to their candidate’s ingrained habit of opening mouth, inserting foot….

Just remember this, my girl, as you look up in the sky — You can see the stars and still not see the light. — The Eagles, from “Lyin’ Eyes”

It’s early yet, so perhaps by the end of the day, the Twitt will have once again proved his complete lack of intelligence with some ill-considered lie. I suppose it’s a good thing that he is so completely clueless; if he bothered to ever look up at the sky, he wouldn’t even see the stars, much less the light…. At this point, all we can do is make sure that enough ffolkes get to the polls to keep him from ever getting any closer to the Oval Office than the two-dollar White House tour….. and continue to watch as he continues his campaign of self-destruction, right there in front of God and everybody…..

“I used to be a FUNDAMENTALIST, but then I heard about the HIGH RADIATION LEVELS and bought an ENCYCLOPEDIA!!” — Zippy the Pinhead

“The broad mass of a nation… will more easily fall victim to a big lie than to a small one.” — Adolf Hitler (1889-1945), “Mein Kampf”
___________________________________
Families, when a child is born
Want it to be intelligent.
I, through intelligence,
Having wrecked my whole life,
Only hope the baby will prove
Ignorant and stupid.
Then he will crown a tranquil life
By becoming a Cabinet Minister
— Su Tung-p’o

Born in 1036, Su Tung-po was a famous Chinese poet. He was also called Su Shih. Born in present-day Sichuan province, Su was from a literary family. During the Sung Dynasty he wrote very simple poems based on Buddhist Philosophy. Su occupied many official posts, rising to president of the board of rites (which regulated imperial ceremonies and worship). He designed the parks surrounding Lake Si in Hangzhou. Five emperors came to the throne during his lifetime.

Su’s poetry and art were inspired by Taoism and Buddhism, although his political views were founded in Confucian philosophy. Su is generally considered the greatest poet of the Sung dynasty. He is also noted for his fu, satiric poems which approach free verse, and for letters and essays. Although his writings were once blacklisted, even destroyed, his genius could not be repressed. His poetry and writing have been reprinted, studied, and enjoyed by generations since.

His satiric verses and opposition to official policies frequently lost him his official status and resulted in imprisonment and 12-times exiled. Su’s tumultuous career began around 1079, when he wrote a satirical poem on the New Policies promoted by Prime Minister Wang An-shih, who was infuriated and had Su arrested. Su served time in jail and was later released, but the following year he was banished to Huang-chou in the southern hinterlands. This proved to be a major turning point in his life. Beforehand, Su was a free and spirited personality, and his poetry was full of insight and energy. However, having barely escaped with his life and being banished to the harsh region of the south, he began to reflect on the beauty of nature and the meaning of life. In exile, he enjoyed the simple pleasures of farming and writing, taking joy in what life had to offer. In fact, many of his most popular works were done at the time. Though Su was later pardoned, he was never far from controversy. Even as an old man, he was banished to the furthest reaches of the land–Hainan Island in the South China Sea. The experience, however, only further enlightened him. Though pardoned once again, this time he did not make it back to court and died on the trip north.

Picture, poem, and biography from Poemhunter.com   Su Tung-p’o

I love finding new authors…. well, authors who are new to me. I’ve seen this poem before, and even used it once, I believe, as a pearl, but I didn’t realize there was more from the poet. Now I have a whole new bunch of stuff to read, that I’ve never seen before…. Life is good!….
___________________________________

It’s time again for an old-school pearl…. these statements all lead to one cogent thought, one that can completely change your life, and how you look at that life…. just let your mind float freely, holding each thought, then adding the next one in, until all have been mixed together thoroughly, to a smooth consistency…. and you will SEE!…..

“Always store beer in a dark place.” — Lazarus Long

Be a hero! Teach your children to think for THEMSELVES! — Smart Bee

“A man who does not think for himself does not think at all.” — Oscar Wilde, “Oscariana”

“You’re not supposed to be so blind with patriotism that you can’t face reality. Wrong is wrong, no matter who says it.” — Malcolm X

“Once you can accept the universe as being something expanding  into an infinite nothing which is something, wearing stripes  with plaid is easy.” — Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

And, as it has been said for centuries in the alleyways and hidden streets of the world’s greatest cities,….. there you go. You may now consider yourself a yogini of highest rank…..  or was that yogurt?  No matter, don’t you feel enlightened? I know I do….. with a nice blueberry aftertaste….
___________________________________

I’d better stop here…. it’s threatening to get away from me, and it wouldn’t be pretty for that to happen today; too much built up angst-pressure. It would blow away this whole corner of the internet for a couple hours, minimum…. So be 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

Dozer

Kowabunga!