For proper digital magic, pixel dust is required….

Ffolkes,

    I really do love when a plan comes together…. It makes what T.S. wrote above even more beautiful, to know all at once how it feels when the hope, and faith, and love, are true to life…. Of course, such feelings are fleet, lasting only as long as we can hold onto them, to copy into permanent memory, where we can find them later, when we have the time to think back to better times….

I’ve no clue as to how that turned so melancholy…. It may be the flower you see; it’s one of my better shots of a rose, sharply defined and filled with the beauty of the unique pattern of petals each rose shows as it’s own, much like a snowflake…. but, when you look a bit closer, you can see this rose is old, has been open for some days, and will soon lose its petals to age, falling one by one, until the beauty is all gone, killed cruelly, its beauty stolen by time, as it always is…. I guess that’s a bit melancholy….

It’s too early to stay that way, though, so we’d best look for another way to start this Pearl; nobody wants to hear me rant when I’m filled with melancholia…. I reckon it’s hard enough when I’m filled up with angst and/or outrage, at the latest shenanigans of the political or religious idiots who like to call themselves leaders, or preachers, or the most dangerous sort of Asininny these days, policemen….

Truth be told, these days, you may as well just call them paramilitary fanatics, as policemen, for they seem to be changing the face of public safety, from the familiar one, of the well-known officer of the law, who knows everyone in his constituency by name, to the faceless, armored warrior with no investment in community, or protection of people, but, only the protection of property and business rights….

There, how was that? A short, one paragraph mini-rant, served up for your morning pleasure with just a touch of smarm to go along with the ridicule…. it adds a bit of flavor to an otherwise tasteless group of people…. Those who serve themselves before thinking of others, from whatever motivation they may claim, have no class, no taste, and, in my opinion, no reason to be allowed to live, not if they’re going to be assholes all their lives…. That’s my opinion, but, it is, I should think, one very popular, if not often expressed, or acknowledged…. I have a feeling that, these days, there are a LOT of people out there who would have something to say about the issue, if pressed….

That’s the whole problem, you see… People only speak out about such issues when pressed, so the problem grows larger with time, because nobody wants to be the first to criticize…. Well, you know me now, so, you know I won’t bother to wait, to tell the assholes I think they’re living up to the names I call them; I enjoy it, and would love to be able to do it face to face more often than I already do…. Of course, it’s  tricky thing, baiting cops…. most of them don’t have much of a sense of humor; it comes from taking one’s self too seriously, a common trait among bullies, and those who resort to aggression as their tool of choice in interactions with others….

Ah me, such is the blogger’s life, and I am loving it… at least, I am now that my internet service is back, and my routine is once again relatively normal, or what passes for such on this blog…. I will admit, what most folks, or even ffolkes, call normal doesn’t resemble what happens here too often, but, that’s just fine with us…. we, or more accurately, I have no problem with “Abbie Normal”…. In fact, it’s where I live most of the time, so, for me, the process of ranting, and taking shots at Asininnies of all shapes and sizes, is probably a good way to keep me from going out to buy a gun, which I would be sorely tempted to use, to improve the scenery of our country, so long perverted by so many….

Now that I’ve ranted a bit, and sublimated my need to act into a more literary solution to my need for expression, we’ll take this slow on the road, down into the nether sections, where we can find something a bit less dreadfully mundane to discuss…. Well, we’ll try, anyway…. I’m just hoping there aren’t any major issues to resolve along the lines of the last time we took off on time…. I HATE having to break my promise to myself to never kill anyone before breakfast has been served, so as not to spoil anyone’s appetite…. Plus, I’m getting low on the cleansers needed to get the blood stains off the concrete….

Shall we Pearl? Before I get any weirder?….

“It is a blessed thing that in every age some one has had individuality enough and courage enough to stand by his own convictions. I believe it was Magellan who said, “The church says the earth is flat; but I have seen its shadow on the moon, and I have more confidence even in a shadow than in the Church.” On the prow of his ship were disobedience, defiance, scorn, and success.” — Robert G. Ingersoll, quoted in _The Great Quotations_

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

“It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.” — New Testament — Acts ix, 5

In truth, it’s never really been all that hard for me…..    :-)    Sorry, couldn’t resist…. Since I am back to my nearly-normal routine today, I had thought to create a fresh rant for this section…. However, I’m in too good a mood to pick something I know will just end up making me mad, or sad, or just plain pissed off, at least one of which is necessary to give any rant what it needs to succeed, to wit: some passionate anger, directed at a worthy target….

I know it wouldn’t be hard to slip over to a news site, pick out a headline, load up the old metaphoric cannon, & let fly; what with the state of affairs in Missouri, the Ukraine, Iraq, and Syria, there’s no dearth of material from which to choose targets worthy of the term, “evil fucking assholes”, most of whom the world would be better off for their having never being conceived in the first place….

It seems, at the present time, all over the world. ALL of the Asininnies are in full-out summer madness, killing each other, right along with the innocents alongside them, left, right, and straight down the middle…. Women, and children, and millions of poor, defenseless people are being killed, or enslaved, or otherwise made to suffer at the hands of their own alleged leaders and protectors, all of whom are more interested in achieving their own selfish, avaricious agendas than thinking of ways to help anyone else…. especially if that anyone else is of another religion, skin color, gender, or practically ANY sort of difference in lifestyle or appearance from their own… If you’re a pink monkey, the brown monkeys will hate you, for not being brown….

See, I almost fell into a rant right there, just talking about those assholes, without having to resort to any actual instances of proof, of which there are almost too many to count, or pick from…. Instead, I am going to do something altogether new, (I hope….)… First, below is a link, to one of my older posts, which I’m putting here rather than just re-blogging it… If you go to read it, you will find it to be a travelogue entry, perhaps the best of all that I posted while on my trip to Europe in 2013…. ‘Twas written near the end of the cruise I took around the British Isles, a lifelong dream of mine, and has some good photos, some good memories, and no ranting…. Thus, it fits my mood, and need, just fine….

After you read it, I am putting in a short, five star pearl, composed to give y’all just a taste of how I look at Life at Large, and try to meet it, head on…. Well, so to speak…. the head I tend to put on is often not in what might be called the most reliable, or even the most comprehensible state… but, I sure have fun with it, so, maybe you will too…. Enjoy, ffolkes, and try to appreciate my tact and diplomacy today; it’s all I’ve got at this point…. Could be worse, right?….

http://gigoid.me/2013/05/21/the-sign-said-it-would-float/

And, now, a word from Smart Bee, and few of his most insightful, intelligent friends….

“Today for show and tell I’ve brought a tiny marvel of nature: a single snowflake. I think we might all learn a lesson from how this utterly unique and exquisite crystal turns into an ordinary, boring molecule of water, just like every other one, when you bring it in the classroom. And now, while the analogy sinks in, I’ll be leaving you drips and going outside.” — Calvin, “Calvin and Hobbes”

“I stopped opening my mail and now my life is so much simpler.” — Albert Einstein

“Go not to the elves for counsel, for they will say both yes and no.” — J. R. R. Tolkien

“In most instances, all an argument proves is that two people are present.” — Smart Bee

“Do I look like someone who cares about what God thinks?” — Zippy the Pinhead

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

Any of you who really know me knows who today’s poet will be; when I need a dose of the real thing, with no ups, no extras, I always turn to “este poeta”….. I won’t even bother to suggest you enjoy it; that’s your choice anyway. But, I happen to know, it’s worth enjoying…. Plus, if you’re as fond of metaphor as I am, this will fit right in today….

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

To go with tradition, this will be a random, harlequin style, old-school pearl, the best kind, as well as the quickest to create…. I’ve been enjoying myself so much, I’ve dawdled, and it’s nearly time to be done… So, here….

“Fain would I climb, yet fear I to fall.” — Sir Walter Raleigh
“If thy heart fails thee, climb not at all”. — Queen Elizabeth I

“Love withers under constraint: its very essence is liberty: it is compatible neither with obedience, jealousy, nor fear.” — Percy Bysshe Shelley

“I’m thinking of starting my own talk radio show. I’ll spout simplistic opinions for hours on end, ridicule anyone who disagrees with me, and generally foster divisiveness, cynicism, and a lower level of public dialog . . . imagine getting paid to act like a six year old!” — Calvin, “Calvin and Hobbes”

“Puns are little plays on words that a certain breed of person loves to spring on you and then look at you in a certain self-satisfied way to indicate that he thinks that you must think that he is by far the cleverest person on Earth now that Benjamin Franklin is dead, when in fact what you are thinking is that if this person ever ends up in a lifeboat, the other passengers will hurl him overboard by the end of the first day even if they have plenty of food and water.” — Dave Barry, Why Humor is Funny

(But, they’re so much PUN!…. Sorry, couldn’t help myself….)

“They are voting whether to keep a governor two years or four. I think a good, honest governor should get four years, and the others life.” — Will Rogers

“If God considered woman a helpmeet for men, He must have had a poor opinion of men.” — Smart Bee

“It is the quality rather than the quantity that matters.” — Lucius Annaeus Seneca (4 B.C. – A.D. 65)

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

Having thus discharged my single duty for the day, I will take my leave, content to know I’ve done all I can do…. We won’t discuss whether or not this is something worth doing; not going there today. Or, ever, probably…. Either way, I’m done, so, I’ll go now, and leave y’all in peace…. Tomorrow, then, to be sure….