Bastardized versions of authentic matzo balls….

Ffolkes,

It made for a long day, but, it’s over, and going back there is counterproductive, so we’ll kiss yesterday’s pain and misery goodbye, and take what today has to offer, such as it is….

And good morning to you, such as it is….. Having thus disposed of another day by mostly sleeping, or otherwise helping my consciousness to defer the pain through distraction or drugs, (preferably the latter), I sit here again, beset by the demons of silence, who gleefully steal away every creative thought my mind can conjure in the mornings, no doubt egged on by Murphy himself. There are times when I don’t feel like fighting them off, but, I’ve been up a while now, and have already dealt with them as best I could, with what little bit of wherewithal I possessed…. Trust me, you don’t want to know what I did to get them to back off; it’s illegal in most states, anyway, so I’d rather not say what it was, or how I obtained it…

For that matter, you probably don’t want to know ANY of what I’ve done to find myself at this juncture, and, I can’t much blame y’all for that…. So far, as far as I can tell, this is pretty boring, being little more than a guy blathering about nothing much at all. That, of course, is just what we do here, mostly, but, it does get away from me on occasion (such as now….), dragging us all through a period of nonsense, fantasy, or just plain bullshit, just as if we had the right…. which, of course, we do…. You see, if you stop by to read, you have to read whatever I put here, don’t you? Yes, you do….

It’s that, or go somewhere else, and though a LOT of folks, and some ffolkes as well, have been avoiding this lately, I do like to think I’m doing something worthwhile, if not necessary, or even appreciated. I’m trying to help the world, and though it really doesn’t believe it needs it, it does, so I can’t give up, any more than I can stop breathing…. not if I want to be able to look in the mirror each morning, and still be able to meet my own eyes….

Boy, I’m really lost this morning…. I have no idea how I got to the point of moral/ethical motivation, but, the intro probably isn’t the wisest choice for that type of revelation, though it does indicate a degree of honest self-appraisal you won’t find a lot of places…. But, even if honest, it’s not necessarily interesting, or productive, so, we’ll just drop the whole thing now, and try to get ourselves out of here, and on to the day’s more entertaining material…. Well, we can dream, can’t we?….

Shall we Pearl?…..

He that will not when he may,
When he would he shall have nay.

– John Heywood (c. 1565) — Proverbes, Part i, Chap. iii

And, BOY, is that the perfect pearl for this intro, or what?…..

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The following entry is one I repost on occasion, mainly to save myself the personal drama and upset that dealing with this subject creates in me; it’s one of the quickest ways I know to bring out old PTSD-related feelings, arousing my ire, and my angst, along with other feelings best left unnamed…. However, my unwillingness to feel those destructive emotions doesn’t preclude, or override the necessity for this message to be spread; the picture and quote by Einstein guarantees that much courage as a minimum response, in my book…. Please read, and think about the ideas presented here; it is important, more so than you may think or believe, to a lot of women who are at real risk of more than simple harm….

From 10/20/2012:
Raquel Welch:  36-24-36
Bo Derek:  35-24-36
Ann-Margaret:  37-25-36
Bette Middler:  37-25-36
Marilyn Monroe:  37-24-37
Jane Russell:  39-27-38
Jayne Mansfield: 40-23-37
Sophia Loren:  37-25-36

– Smart Bee (?)

So, sue me. It isn’t what you think, unless you are thinking what I’m thinking. I’m not going to say that isn’t possible, or even unlikely…. unless you  are thinking it is about some sexist premise that identifies women as objects. Being male, I’m not an expert on spotting or exposing that, but I’ve been around a long time, and have never held with most of what society holds as true about women, unless spoken by a woman who hasn’t proved to be one of the brainwashed….

No, this list is only here to note that what society seems to project, in magazines and advertising, through fashions and trends sponsored by those who determine such matters (i.e., the moneymen… those corporate snakeheads who control society’s resources) as the image of beauty, is not the same as what public opinion obviously feels about what makes a woman beautiful, in terms of weight and shape. All of the women in the above list were, and/or are, considered to be the visual pinnacle of what the public believes is beautiful, as evidenced by the popularity of their work, in film or on stage…. but none of them are at all similar to what the manipulators of fashion would have us believe is the ideal shape….

Whereas models can only be described as slender or willowy, (actually, to me they all look emaciated….), all the women in the list are what we might call zaftig, or Rubenesque, in their visual proportions….. Personally, I agree with the public…. I find Ann Margaret to be much more pleasant to look at than any model in a magazine that I have EVER seen….. And, the fact that I feel entitled to make a judgment makes me as guilty of objectifying women as a man who utilizes brothels for sex…

Thus, if we grant the truth of that revelation, the mere existence of the list becomes the most objectionable piece of it….. It illustrates that the process of objectification is subtle; just applying such standards to women at all tends to cause people to think of them as objects, rather than as people. Society has been male-oriented for a very long time, a state of affairs justified as “might makes right.” Sadly; a lot of what is wrong in the world can be traced to that unfortunate fact.

Men, all throughout history, because of their own insecurities about their own sexuality, and their fear of women in that respect, have set up society so that women have very little say about what happens to them in life; those decisions are made for them by fathers, brothers, or husbands in most of the world. In order to do this, and not suffer pangs of guilt at every turn, men, and women, are taught that it is okay to objectify women, and to treat them as if they are property…. and property needs to be labeled, hence lists such as the one above….

Yesterday, (note: 10/16/2012…..) rmott62 posted a blog, ( http://rmott62.wordpress.com/2012/10/19/your-lies-are-part-of-our-genocide/), which I re-blogged on my site, speaking about this very subject, to wit: how the language we choose can objectify those of whom it speaks.  You can probably get a better idea of how insidiously the issue of victimizing women permeates society by visiting her blog; she speaks powerfully, with no punches pulled, from experience, and with great insight, much more forcefully than I ever can, so I recommend to you, very strongly, that you go to her site, and read what she has to say….

If you listen, and believe, it will change the way you look at much of what passes in our society for normal. It will make you ashamed for not noticing…. Every time I go there to read her posts, that is how I feel, and if it is not the same for other men, (women, too!….), well, it should be, for we are ALL guilty of perpetrating the evil, if only by not acting or speaking up…. Silence on this subject is habitual for most of society, & will be for as long as the victimization of women, and the entire prostitution industry, continues to objectify, demean, and drag women of all ages into perpetual slavery….. with the aid of the language itself, and the tacit approval of all those who won’t look at the issue….

“The makers of fortunes have a second love of money as a creation of their own, resembling the affection of authors for their poems, or of parents for their children … and hence they are very bad company, for they talk of nothing but the praises of wealth.” — Plato (428-348? B.C.)

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In perusing old pearls, which I do sometimes when I’m not up to creating them, I found this old poem of mine, which, apparently, I wrote on 10/17/2012, as it appears in the Pearl for that day…. It’s as good as any I’ve ever done, I’d say….

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Here are some pictures to form a pearl, some of which were taken from other sites…. The first one, of the ship and helicopter, is from the London Daily Telegraph’s Day in Pictures feature from June 3, 2014; the second is an artist’s rendition of a new planet around a distant star found by the Hubble Telescope, & released by NASA. The planet picture was found on a number of different sites, and thus is apparently in the common usage category, as long as it is attributed…. Hope you enjoy today’s pix & comments….
“I had rather have a fool to make me merry than experience to make me sad.” — William Shakespeare (1564-1616), As You Like It — Act iv, Sc. 1

My immediate thought on this was, “What a waste of tax money!”….. The copter shot off this in celebration of D-Day, I believe, and the photo itself was classified as the Armed Forces Photo of the Week, for some publication somewhere put out by the armed services….. which, to me, makes it even more egregiously wasteful…. Can you imagine how much it cost to put those two vehicles in that position, then fire off all 60 flares at once…. I’d wager it came to close to a million dollars, or in this case, pounds, as it was a British ship and copter…. SIGH…. I am very afraid, ffolkes, that we humans just don’t have what it takes to survive much longer…..
“The public have an insatiable curiosity to know everything.  Except what is worth knowing.  Journalism, conscious of this, and having tradesman-like habits, supplies their demands.” — Oscar Wilde

“The tree of liberty only grows when watered by the blood of tyrants.” — Bertrand Barere (1755-1841) — Speech in the Convention Nationale, 1792

The picture, as noted above, is an artist’s view of the newest planet around a distant star found by the Hubble Telescope, in orbit around Earth…. The two quotes, however, have nothing to do with the picture…. Both of them came up while I was looking for an appropriate pearl to go with the planet, and just insisted on being included…. I think it may be from my growing need to rant, which I have been sublimating for about a week now…. Soon, I think, it will require that I let it loose, or it will cause me some problems in my personal life…. For now, just take these with a bunch of salt, and we’ll go on to better things….. Well, different, anyway….
“To live is so startling it leaves little time for anything else.” — Emily Dickinson

I call this shot, “A Shadow’s Heart”. It happened as I tried to take a close-up of these beautiful yellow roses…. As I lined up the shot, I noticed the position of the shadow, and took it as you see it…. Serendipity strikes again! I knew it was better than hoped for when I found the perfect pearl to accompany the picture, first time out….. Honest…. when I looked for the right pearl, Emily was the first one that came up….. I love it when  a plan comes together….
— How many members of the U.S.S. Enterprise does it take to change a light bulb?

7…..  Scotty will report to Captain Kirk that the light bulb in the Engineering Section is burnt out, to which Kirk will send Bones to pronounce the bulb dead. Scotty, after checking around, notices that they have no more new light bulbs, and complains that he can’t see in the dark to tend to his engines. Kirk must make an emergency stop at the next uncharted planet, Alpha Regula IV, to procure a light bulb from the natives. Kirk, Spock, Bones, Sulu, and 3 red shirt security officers beam down. The 3 security officers are promptly killed by the natives, and the rest of the landing party is captured. Meanwhile, back in orbit, Scotty notices a Klingon ship approaching and must warp out of orbit to escape detection. Bones cures the native king who is suffering from the flu, and as a reward the landing party is set free and given all of the light bulbs they can carry. Scotty cripples the Klingon ship and warps back to the planet just in time to beam up Kirk et. al. The new bulb is inserted, and the Enterprise continues with its five year mission. — Smart Bee

This is an example of what happens when my mind wanders…. I went to look for an appropriate pearl for the nice close-up of an unknown flower, and got caught up reading this…. I like it, it’s funny, and consistent with the Star Trek venue…. For today, that’s all it needs….
I saw young Harry, with his beaver on,
His cuisses on his thighs, gallantly arm’d,
Rise from the ground like feather’d Mercury,
And vaulted with such ease into his seat
As if an angel dropp’d down from the clouds,
To turn and wind a fiery Pegasus
And witch the world with noble horsemanship.

– William Shakespeare (1564-1616), King Henry IV — Act iv, Sc. 1

Here, at the end of all things, (Well, maybe it’s just the end of this pearl, but, Shakespeare is so dramatic, I thought….. Ah, the hell with it…), I have placed this picture, of the day I went strolling on Portobello Road, in London. I met this Charlie C. impersonator, a mime, who insisted on having a picture taken together….. There’s no meaning, to either the picture, or the accompanying quote…. It just seemed to go together…. Mostly, I just wanted to be done, and, now, I am, so there…..

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And thank goodness for that….. This Pearl, though partially created beforehand, still took a long time to put together…. In fact, so long, I’m considering returning to my bed, to finish what I should have done before, which is sleep until I’m no longer tired…. Maybe, someday…. For now, I’m going to trust my luck, and go post this…. See ya tomorrow, ffolkes, no matter how bad I feel…. Today is proof I can put out a Pearl practically on my death bed, so, be warned….