Why, it’s homemade acorn brandy!….

Ffolkes,

‘Twas not so long ago, in cosmic terms, I could type for hours, without ever reaching a point where pain kept me from continuing…. The past few weeks, since the advent here in NorCal of an actual winter pattern of weather, have necessitated a new policy, to wit: I type until I can’t, about five minutes, max, then I must rest my hands for a while, in order to continue. It makes the composition process somewhat choppy, as I’m only able to discuss any particular idea for about one paragraph before taking a break…

As you may imagine, this is less than an optimum method of composing. It is, however, reality, and, thus, there’s no getting around it. So, I type, I rest, I type some more, all the while fighting off any drowsiness from the extra meds I take…. At this point, it will occur to you to ask WHY am I relating all this to y’all? The answer is simple…. it’s all I could think of…. again.

You see, I’ve been doing this so long now, I’m also running out of ideas for this intro (well, that actually happened long ago, but, the effect is getting worse all the time….), which makes each morning a new fight to find a way to open up with something that will draw readers in, not turn them away from the over-abundance of sharing of personal information, which nobody probably cares much about…. It’s gotten so bad, I’m not even trying to hide it behind nonsense, or ranting, as has  been my habit in the past….

Ah well, I suppose there’s nothing that can be done about it; the conditions which have created the issue are not going away, so, it will manifest itself, no matter what I do…. In today’s case, we’ll just have to take what we have, and run with it…. not that we’ll be running far, as I can’t type for shit today…. These four paragraphs have taken five breaks, and over twenty minutes, and there is NOTHING in it…. SIGH….

So much for compelling literature for today…. I guess I’ll just have to try to make the rest of the Pearl somewhat more elegant, or, at the very least, somewhat more entertaining…. You’ll note I say that just as if it happened here regularly…. Nonetheless, I see we are now in reach of one of our escape routes, so, if y’all will kindly tighten up your belts, we’ll dive in for the day….. Hang on, ffolkes….

Shall we Pearl?

“Experience is one thing you can’t get for nothing.” — Oscar Wilde

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Since I cannot type enough to rant, and, my mood is such that humor is well out of reach, here is a large bite of both, from the sharpest mind of the twentieth century…. (IMHO…)   Enjoy!….

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Here is one of my most powerful rants, first posted in August of 2012…..

“If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy.” — James Madison

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From all I can tell from here, this has already happened. When? Why, the very day that the Two Towers were brought down by terrorists, using our own complacency as a weapon. Within hours of that event, politicians of all varieties were screaming for revenge, and the groundwork was laid for the true purpose behind those attacks….. That purpose had nothing to do with what the terrorists want. I am of the opinion that the entire charade was perpetrated by elements of the CIA, at the behest of their former chief, GWB the First. I’m sorry if that sounds unpatriotic, but I believe it to be true; if it is, it kinda makes them the bad guy, now, doesn’t it?…..

The timing of the attacks are what always bothered me. The day before, September 10th, you may recall, there was an effort to bring to light the voter suppression and vote manipulation in Florida during the election, which had the votes from that state changing from supporting Gore to being in favor of GWB the Junior. There was evidence of mischief in the handling of the votes, and the idea of an investigation into the election was gaining strength, as it should. But, that whole idea was forgotten in the heat of the moment when the terrorists struck….

Funny, isn’t it, how that event changed the face of American politics, putting the fear of “others” into the populace? That fire was immediately stoked until white hot, and the people were made afraid. Of precisely what was never made very clear, but we were supposed to be afraid, at least according to all our brave pundits in Washington. And what was the end result of all that hooraw? The Homeland Security Act, which was the first blatant, and successful attempt to abridge the civil rights guaranteed to us by the Bill of Rights.

Searches, seizures, snooping, all without warrant or cause, were made legal, and the rest of the Bill of Rights were restricted. The public not only did not object, they supported this abrogation of duty, all from the fear engendered on 9/11. The right to assemble in peaceful protest was severely restricted, and the forces of evil, in the guise of police, were given carte blanche to roust the citizenry of this country, without having to answer to anyone, even if they proved to be wrong. And did we hear any complaints from the public? None that were publicized….

Which brings us to the other culprits in this whole charade; the media. The media has jumped right onto the fear bandwagon, reporting the terrorist acts in the harshest, screaming headlines they could manage, whipping up the public’s fears with stories of horror and vicious inhumanity. Any voices that objected to the abridgment of rights, or questioned the reactions of the political pundits, were labeled as unpatriotic, and drowned out in the fear-mongering and public paroxysms of terror that blared from the papers and televisions.

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

People tend to forget that the media outlets are all owned by members of the 1%, and are not really interested in presenting unbiased, informational stories. Those don’t sell very well, and they don’t feed into the fear that the beloved ruling class wants the public to feel when they think of other countries. The pundits keep telling the public that the rest of the Third World is jealous, and are out to get us, and by their actions, they are making absolutely sure that is true. The media does NOT present a fair and unbiased version of ANYTHING, much less of the political scene, and people need to remember that…. Just because someone on TV, wearing a nice tie, an American flag pinned to the lapel of their $1000 suit, and an ingratiating smirk, tells you that someone from another country is evil, doesn’t make it so…..

The opinion I expressed above regarding who is actually responsible for the mess we are in is so far unchallenged by anyone with any direct evidence. But then, nobody wants to hear that they’ve been fooled again by the powers that be; it’s embarrassing, if one considers themselves to be a free man. to realize that they are actually an ignorant slave of the beloved ruling class. Most folks will pretend that they agree with whatever comes out of the mouths of the pundits, just so they don’t have to look at how stupid they are really being, and how far from reality they actually reside. Nobody likes to feel like a fool. But, to my way of thinking, I’d rather feel the fool, than feel my freedom slip away, all because some asshole in a suit decided his son needed some help to nail down his theft of the election….

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

So be it….. feel free to comment on this theory, should the urge strike…..

“It does no harm just once in a while to acknowledge that the whole country isn’t in flames, that there are people in the country besides politicians, entertainers, and criminals.” — Charles Kuralt

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There are times writing reveals itself as a daunting prospect, given the quality of what has already been written; the above excerpt from T.S. Eliot’s classic is a perfect demonstration of this principle. It takes a fair bit of ego, and some courage, to place one’s own work alongside such genius…. but, none of us here in the world of blogging would be doing this, unless we had a fair bit of ego in the first place, would we?…. Of course, it also takes a bit more than the average self-awareness, and honesty, to admit such, but, hey, if you’re going to play the game, it’s best to play by the rules…. or, so I’ve found, in my experience….

In spite of all that, here is a poem of my own…. I’m not comparing it with The Waste Land…. It just happens to be here, on a day when my powers of introspection are stronger than usual, enough so to force me into such brutal honesty…. Actually, it’s more like a bit of personal incentive, to push myself to connect more strongly with that spark inside, from which all poetry flows…. This one flowed out of me, from some vein or other, on the day I posted the rant in the section above; it is apparently a reaction to the rant…. It is also another poem I had missed in gathering my poems together, bringing the total to 81 poems in three years…. Not bad for an old fart with flat feet…. Enjoy!….

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In  recent times, Smart Bee has been acting funny, in the sense of repeating itself frequently, in spite of the depth and breadth of its database…. So, to gain some time, so as to tickle it back into a good mood, here is another old-school pearl from the archives…. In fact, it’s from the same post that produced another old-school pearl of great value…. It must have been a good day, relatively speaking…. Any who, here ’tis….

From 8/24/2012:

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

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

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….

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I’ve probably used more shortcuts (also known as “cheating”, in some circles….) today than I’ve used in six previous Pearls…. which doesn’t concern y’all, at all…. I just thought I’d mention it, since we’re done, and there’s not going back now…. In fact, I’m not even going to proof today, just post it, and have faith…. Wait, that’s not right…. Okay, so, I’ll fulfill my duties…. Sheesh, a guy can’t even get lazy on his own blog…. See y’all tomorrow, ffolkes, if I ever get done with this….

À bientôt, mon cherí….

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.