Don't Be Wasteful

Anyone in the City who seriously proclaims how “impressed they are,” with the intelligence of some other City-ite, is, if I may re-turn a phrase, pretty easily im-damned-pressed.

The 11th Commandment of The Bushes:

Don’t be wasteful.  Even should your efforts seem useless or unnecessary, don’t be wasteful.

Read in a City book the following statement:

“A single, large vice in a Man is apt to keep out many smaller ones,” but how about my addendum:  Big – I mean REALLY big –  vices may just keep a Man from noticing lesser ones.  For instance, who today remembers Attila’s simply dreadful habit of always interrupting other people?

Should you prefer to be met by a friendly experience or a hostile theory?  Too easy?  Okay, try it this way:  Would you prefer to dance with an adversarial theory, or a pleasing experience?  (Call me nothing, if not agreeable, flexible, and not after eleven p.m.)

“I’ll never trust another robin as long as I live,” cried a Man simply desperate for suffering and disappointment.

J.

Excuses, Excuses

Could a Real Revolutionist use the idea of having a house that seemed almost “un-lived in,” internally?  He himself leaving almost no trace OF himself IN himself?

With ordinary, 3-D consciousness, you can never measure the infinite, or the too vague.

Sign in the City, “Dozen Roses, $5.95 or $9.95,” and the guy asks the difference.  “Six dollars a dozen,” is replied.  “Yeah, I know that, but what’s the difference in the roses?”  “None,” comes the reply, “same roses, it’s just that you can either pay $5.95 or $9.95.”  As I have said be four, if not five, there MAY be hope for the City yet.

I heard that one City organization had as its motto the following, “Help for the living, hope for the dead.”  I think I’ll withhold comment until someone reverses this credo.

Everything that most People do is just an excuse.

J.

Don't Try This At Home

If it “all seems TOO plausible,” you’re probably on Candid Camera.

Shows how smart the Yellow-Circuitry IS in Man:  It’ll make him say, “Hey, I’m not as DUMB as I look,” while the Red one would never proclaim, “Hey, I’m not as TALL as I AM.”

Are people generally more disappointed by what has, or has not, happened to THEM, or simply about being the THEM that they are?

Now remember kids, don’t YOU try this at home.

Only an enemy will take time to accurately describe you.

Don’t EVER discuss the cost.

J.

Never-You-Mind Land

In “Never-You-Mind Land,” every meaningful sentence has a certain fixed number of words, (the same as do Men).

In the City, a professional comedian is a would-be dominant mugger with a grin, and no gun.

The little tyke asked the old man, “Grandfather, what is the difference between one who tells you half of what he knows, and one who knows only half of what he tells you?”  And the old gent chuckled, and sent the lad out to play in the quagmire…where he belonged.

In a Real Revolution, you must remember this:

What you’ve gotta do, is regardless of what is true.

From the Book of Nevers:
Never trust a god with an accent.

J.

People Won't Be Satisfied

Those who can sing, do.

And those who can’t, often STILL do.

Most people just won’t be satisfied until they’ve blown up.

Always pretend you’re going to ask for less than you are.  And then DON’T.

Ordinary understanding is available to all, butRrevolutionist data is dear indeed.

Just because mortals write books, does not mean there are any real books ON mortals.

J.

The Purpose of Words

Well, sure, you can be eccentric, but can you keep it HIDDEN...so that it means something?

No matter what Ms. Greenblatt may have told you in the tenth grade, I’m here to set your record straight:  All words have the same, base definition.  (Now THAT’S the kinda stuff you can’t get from public education.)

Okay, let me be even MORE straight and specific:

The PURPOSE of all words is the same.

Now, is that better?

If you merely attempt to “go by the rules,” you’ll always be too late.  By the time rules are formulated and adopted in any area, they are outdated.  For example, you could never be a Muslim by attending to Islamic rules.  Weird, but true.  Weird, but fascinating.  Weird, but efficiency exemplified.

In the City, all Men secretly laugh, ofttimes in dazed bewilderment, at other Men’s sense of duty.

J.

Retreat is not an Option

Don’t ever let the excitement of any game get you so carried away that you try to tackle when LIFE has the ball.

You can tell a lot about a person by the things they throw away…and this has nothing to do with garbage.

One ole’ City cynic recently said, “Now that our communications networks are worldwide, and all peoples are drawn that much closer, we should soon see some profitable increase in the minimal hatred Men hold for one another.”

Once heard it put this way:

“The Revolutionist is like a still, quiet figure in the midst of a storm,” to which came the retort, “No, you got it backwards.”

A Real Revolutionist can’t have retreat as an option.

J.

The Show Must Go On

I was with a Revolutionist once when he first heard that rhetorical query, “At what price victory?”  And he thought that was the FUNNIEST thing he’d ever heard.

A Revolutionist is like a sailor who never gets shore leave.  And a Real Revolutionist doesn’t even care…assuming he ever notices.

Then this lawyer stood up and shouted,” But your Grace, there IS no such charge as ‘Sodomy of the Mind.’”

One efficient City guy proclaimed, “I believe in justice for others, whining for me.”  And his semi-brother added, “And I will not grovel, unless it is absolutely necessary or convenient,” at which time his sketchy sister chimed in, “Yes, and I, for my part, will keep my very knickers nailed down, except when humanity’s back in town.”

Just because the “show must go on” doesn’t mean you have to buy a forty-dollar bag of popcorn.

J.

The Big Secret - Hey What?

Another difference ‘twixt ordinary Men and the Revolutionist is that the former believe in an ultimate, unknowable “secret,” while the latter knows that one aspect OF the “big secret” is that this belief is spurious.

From one section out near the Bushes, I overheard the following:

“Now I’m not saying that MOST stuff is a waste of time, I’m merely saying that all stuff is.”

One City fellow instructed his child thusly, “Never eat any product whose name sounds happier than you are.”

Only a certified simpleton is ever on time, late, or shows up.

No matter what the City priests tell you, you WILL “take it with you.” 

(“It” is not the sort to forget who it brought TO the dance.)

J.

Perfection

The sayings of the few
are the beliefs of the many. 

The acts of the many
are the downfall of the few.

The only person who actually believes that what he sez is important is the person who said it. (Is that just or not?)

Of all ordinary human concepts, it is perhaps that of “perfection” that is the most flawed.

And thus spaketh the City once again: “Listen, don’t gimme all that shit, if I knew what I was talking about, I wouldn’t be talking.”

If you MUST live in one place or other, then do so.

J.

Universal Solvent

Real Revolutionists are always jumping onto trains after they’ve already started, and leaping off well before they’ve stopped.

A Revolutionist’s quadroscopic sight is the TRUE universal solvent.

In this journey, some have attempted to call “life,” we seem to have both water and wine, and the Revolutionist knows he must continually add wine TO his wine until there is no more; until he has reached the point of vino correcto, vino perfecto; the stronger fortified to the point of

unspeakableness.

“So, okay,” sez this one guy who apparently had once read some revolutionary material, apparently, “So, okay,” sez he, “Let’s say that all Men’s consciousness is NOT equal, but then, okay, what if those with the least, or even NONE, are the only ones who ever discuss the subject of consciousness?”

What do you figure is the half-life of stupidity?

J.

Part-Time Job

From the List of Nevers:
Never trust a god who travels.

I heard another of of “those guys” who hang out around the Bushes, apparently addressing himself, say, “This burg’s not small enough for both of us.

Over in that City park, where random speakers hold sway, one man cried out, “The world as we know it now cannot live at the level of ‘excellence’ as propounded by those great men of the past.”  And a member of his audience pondered this a moment, then shouted back, “In that case, what is needed is either a lowering of our expectations, or some new, flabby definition of ‘excellence’.”

Quote Update Number 47:
What this country needs is a good five cent remark.

Being “human,” at best, is a part time job.

J.

Call Me Later

In the City, the secret of how to “live properly” seems to be solely in the hands of those who can’t.

Only a Real Revolutionist can CORRECTLY ever expect something for nothing.

Regarding many routine City matters, a Revolutionist might say, “Call me back later,” and then leave town.

If a Revolutionist couldn’t be somebody else, he wouldn’t be anybody.

If a Revolutionist couldn’t be himself, he wouldn’t be anybody.

If a Revolutionist couldn’t be somebody else AND himself, he wouldn’t be anybody.

In the City, plan to deal only in safe statements, if you plan to stay in the game at all.

J.

No Ears

A Man has no ears for things he cannot hear.  Dig it, troops.

The unrecognized pickle in the Garden of Eden story:

If you got sex appeal, shallowness ain’t no crime.

It’s surprising how a good explosion can quickly calm things down.

Steady, moving and complex sight is not an attribute of This activity, but IS This activity.

When it seems I am speaking most directly to you, is when your army of upper molecules are most on the move.

J.

The Deluxe

I say there, old stick, if this is your standard model, I’d like the deluxe, and if this IS your deluxe, I’d like my money back.

Although many apparently know, or at least say that, “Man does not live by bread alone,” not many notice it is now almost by TALK alone.

If your sense of morality makes you unhappy, be assured that you have a fine set of City morals.

May I now point to that Revolutionist who sang out, “My flanks are breached, my rear is rent, and my front ranks are giving way…Hah!  I am exhilarated beyond belief.”

Words To Live By In The City, (or at least to weasel by with):

The wrong way usually seems the right way…no it doesn’t, it just SEEMS that way.

J.

Thou Shalt Not Whine

The Revolutionist Commandment most oft broken by many: Thou shalt not whine. 

And the Commandment perhaps most ignored in the heat of justifiable circumstances:

Thou shalt not whine.

A Real Revolutionist is a reformed NOTHING.

“Could you walk that narrow little ledge way up there?”  “Yes.”  “Then why don’t you?”  “You asked, ‘could I,’ not WOULD I.”

Only the poor badmouth the rich; only the weak despise the powerful.

Where an ordinary Man is wont to SAY things, a Revolutionist might more likely imply them.

J.

Might, Might Not

Anything that I say a Revolutionist “might do,” he might just as likely NOT do.

Heard a disgruntled voice complain, “Jeeze, it’s ALWAYS something,” and then another replied, “Yeah, but look at the alternative.”

It’s probably better in the long run to try and not be the brother, or sister, of a famous person.

Which would be the greater loss:  to have no adjectives, or no adverbs?  Well, I guess it would depend on whether you lived in Stuff City, or stayed in Actionville, now wouldn’t it.

That singular father I have previously mentioned to you, as his second lesson, told that exceptional son, who I have already noted, the following:  “Listen, don’t come ‘running to me’ when you want to come ‘running to me.’”  And the lad was amazed and refreshed anew.

J.

Just Think

Just think, if it weren’t for life, you’d have nothing to talk about.

Only routine City intellectuals are impressed by other routine intellectuals.

You must avoid not only moderation itself, but even the APPEARANCE of moderation.

Every little bit helps unless you’re dead.

A City guy stood up and declared, “I’ve got something to say.  I’m not sure what it means, or what it’s worth, but say it I must.  Being totally honest with yourself can be a ‘grand excuse.’ There I feel much better.”

J.

Man is Man

Don’t forget that the highest, most exotic, most abstract, of human ideas, arise from lowly, mute chemical passions.

A Real Revolutionist wouldn’t do anything in his sleep that he wouldn’t do in someone else’s sleep.

‘Twas said, “Those in debt are not necessarily dishonest,” okay, but don’t discount dumb.

Let’s all say it together now, “Everything is ad hoc.”  (By the by, what moderating, functioning intelligence, can conceive of an otherwise?)

For those of you who have heard of, and can recall my story of “The Project,” can you see that the Project site IS the Project?  That the fence around the site IS the Project?  For those who may have enjoyed that, I give the following coda:  Man is Man; Man himself IS Man; Man as he hopes he is, is Man, and Man as he FEARS he is, is Man.  Any questions?

J.

Too Bad...

All the “best” advice has already been used.

One fiery haired Revolutionist told his enlistees as they grew closer to the City, “If they ever ask you, ‘what makes you tick,’ tell em, ‘A TIME bomb.’”

The rules of a King are whatever he says they are.  What a game.

I saw chiseled in a great stone archway in the City, these words, “Tis not what Man does that enables, but what he MIGHT do.”  Thank god for the City…and of course, tomorrow.

Those who REALLY want to, should.

J.