Maggie's Farm

I googled it--trying to remember the synonymous term "Cretan's Paradox", and found this great essay, written plainly, but if not exhaustive, nothing is.

http://www.iep.utm.edu/p/par-liar.htm

attempted hyperlink

Uh, knowledge, like virtue, is its own reward? I know, prissy-ass amswer. I dunno. Can't watch tv without surfing the net? Presbyopia making all reading not on a screen, difficult? FUN?

C's a poet
but she don't know it
but her feet show it
they're longfellows

After scanning the philosophical legerdemain on the Paradox, so far, i agree with the host that the Paradox is actually symbological.

IOW, nature can be made into words, but words can't be made into nature. Words only describe it; the little squiggly marks we use for reading & writing, and the strange sounds we emit from our mouths, are just symbols of matters that exist in reality.

And as we all know, symbols often clash, like in the big finale of the 1812 Overture, where the symbolists are banging 'em together like mad while the cannons go off.

Oh, I learned it from Johnny Carson. Well, his show, that is. The Magician Skits.

Listen, befo I shuffles off my careworn frazzled sleeves for the day, i have to say, that is a pretty nifty bit of meaningful rhyming verse-writing up there at #7. I think I'm going to copy/paste it, if that's too forward of me, and save it along with all those other pearls I've managed to lose track of. Of which I've managed to lose track (never use a preposition to end a sentence with).

For those wondering about habu's obvious depression, he is an old soldier and, now retired from physical danger, has apparently gone bereft of adrenalin sufficient to maintain a buoyant state of being. All I can say is, cheer up, dammit--think of all the good stuff to hand--food, tobacco, booze, tv, the wife & family, the internet, superior consumer road vehicles, indoor plumbing & temp/humidity control, drugs if you're so inclined, a new congress to delight the mind and eye, oh, all sorts of delights, wonders that would've overwhelmed the greatest kings of olde, yours for the fun & distraction.

You can also read Terrye's "I Dreamt Last Night" --an excellent bittersweet autobiographical short story and dairy procedural, over @ Flares.

http://yargb.blogspot.com/2007/01/i-dreamt-last-night.html#links

...as retriever put it so perfectly up there at #2:

"...both man and dog cling to that old doggerel "I'm a lean dog, a keen dog, a wild dog alone, a rough dog a tough dog, a hunting on my own, etc." and shudder at the thought of anyone or Anything that might tame them...."

Sorry to hear about the demise of "Lucky". Reminds me of my job as insurance adjuster.

While visiting a farmer client whose house had burned some weeks earlier, a three-legged pig limped past.

Making small talk, I enquired as to the animal's peculiar condition. Client answered that the pig had actually awaked the family the night of the fire, and thus had saved their lives.

"So he was injured," I asked, "in the fire?"

"No," answered my client, "it's just that, he's our hero, and we hate to eat him all at once."

A moment later, oddly enough, several three-legged chickens ran past at about 50 miles per hour.

"Good Gravy," I exclaimed, "What in the world was that?"

Client explained that the family of three all preferred drumsticks, and so he had bred the three-legged chickens.

I was so shocked, all I could think of was to ask him, "Well, how do they taste?"

"Don't know," he answered, "can't catch 'em."

de gustibus not est disputadum, as the Romains lettuce remember.

(I just got this email from an aquaintance, and pass it on for the merit in it--BL)

WEATHER BULLETIN --Denver

Up here, in the "Mile-Hi City", we just recovered from a Historic event. May I even say a "Weather Event of Biblical Proportions" --- with a historic blizzard of up to 44" inches of snow and winds to 90 MPH that broke trees in half, knocked down utility poles, stranded hundreds of motorists in lethal snow banks, closed ALL roads, isolated scores of communities and cut power to 10's of thousands.

FYI: George Bush did not come. FEMA did nothing. No one howled for the government.
No one blamed the government.
No one even uttered an expletive on TV. Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton did not visit. Our Mayor did not blame Bush or anyone else. Our Governor did not blame Bush or anyone else, either.
CNN, ABC, CBS, FOX or NBC did not visit - or report on this category 5 snowstorm. Nobody demanded $2,000 debit cards.
No one asked for a FEMA Trailer House. No one looted.
Nobody - I mean Nobody demanded the government do something. Nobody expected the government to do anything, either.No Larry King, No Bill O'Rielly, No Oprah, No Chris Mathews and No Geraldo Rivera. No Shaun Penn, No Barbara Striesand, No Hollywood types to be found.

Nope, we just melted the snow for water. Sent out caravans of SUV's to pluck people out of snow engulfed cars. The truck drivers pulled people out of snow banks and didn't ask for a penny. Local restaurants made food and the police and fire departments delivered it to the snowbound families. Families took in the stranded people - total strangers. We fired up wood stoves, broke out coal oil lanterns or Coleman lanterns. We put on extra layers of clothes because up here it is "Work or Die".

We did not wait for some affirmative action government to get us out of a mess created by being immobilized by a welfare program that trades votes for 'sittin at home' checks.

Even though a Category "5" blizzard of this scale has never fallen this early, we know it can happen and how to deal with it ourselves.

In my many travels, I have noticed that once one gets north of about 48 degrees North Latitude, 90% of the world's social problems evaporate.

It does seem that way, at least to me. I hope this gets passed on. Maybe SOME people (Like NO and Wash. DC freeloaders) will get the message. The world does Not owe you a living. The Government and Tax $ are not your insurance company.

Kind of a rant--if host wants to delete it, it won't insult your truly. I just pasted it cuz I wuz proud of the Denverites.

Nice post, X, and sounds like a helluva an adventure-- But credit Neitsche (and fix my spelling?) with the Schwartznegger quote-- and probably Job before der unspellable supermen.