November 25, 2003                                                                 © 2003: JAN COX
 
 
 
 

At the rhymer's rodeo one poet lariat read this cutlet in tribute to
the city's inner workings:
    “Odes to friendship,
      sonnets to love,
      the mind’s vade mecum,
      teaches to shove.”
The ship of state in man’s ordinary consciousness would not sail
were it not under constant assault.
 
 
 

Artists who do not understand what it is they are trying to do,
gladly sit for interviews so that they can tell what it is that they are trying to do.
When your building arrived, it came with both the basement and penthouse
wired and running  --
and normal residents never think about screwing around with the setup........well,
other than talking a lot about doing so.
In one sense: the mental circuits act like breakers for the physical ones  --
but then again, so is the reverse true,
and only the in-town rebel who has taught himself the arcane art of being his own electrician can learn from the study of this arrangement.
 
 
 

A most ancient, but still popular activity
(though continually renamed as is required of all city affairs for them to seem fresh)
is the mental circuits’ fascination with the physical ones: the Noble Savage Syndrome;
which for ordinary minds is but a harmless hobby,
but for ones with special insight into their own operations,
spills an embarrassing amount of normally concealed beans.
 
 
 

From The Secret City Syllabus.
Questions concerning death and success are important!
Questions concerning death and success are quite important!
Questions concerning death and success are extremely important!  --  to twits.
(That surely was meant to say: “To ordinary men.”)
 
 
 

A son said to a father:
“One of your stories I have long remembered and enjoyed is of the dog
who came upon elephant droppings for the first time,
and crossed himself remarking that surely: 'God himself had passed this way,'
but still I wonder if I have found the correct way of raising the stakes of the allegory
to be of practical benefit to my own mental operations?”
     “How could you find an incorrect one?!”  --
and instantly the lad had two enlightenments for the price of one.
 
 
 

Just as there is massage and then  --  massage (as found in the Adults Only ads)
so too are there different methods to achieve the Enlightenment:

Feelings men have of a territorial prerogative: good guard dogs make  --
but not insightful handlers.

News From The Gym.
You do not really understand what independent, rebel thinking is
until you can do sit-ups while standing up.
 
 
 

One guy says: “Without any doubt, the one idea I’ve remembered that has
served me best is: Only non essentials must be promoted to sell.”
 
 
 

One man finally realized that he did not have a herniated disc, but was one.
(At first to his relief........but later he felt forced to reevaluate his initial reaction.)
 
 
 

Upon hearing a Public Service Announcement that was sponsored by
a commercial enterprise, a man snarled: “Who do they think they’re fooling!
They only do it for their own self interest!” –  which is also life’s only reason
for making men do everything they do  (including paying for PSA’s.)
 
 
 

When the king overheard some of his ministers making fun of the intelligence of
the populace, he joined the conversation:
“I guess it is easy enough to laugh at the common folk,” to which one replied:
“Indeed yes!  --  or how else would those of our own acumen be able to do so.”
All synapses may not be born the same,
but it can’t be proven by anyone who’s never left home.
 
 
 

One fellow says he finds it useful to mentally keep all of his ideas in alphabetical order, (makes him less likely to refer thereto, he adds).
 
 
 

More from the continuing drama: You Can Count On It.
Every time life says: “Carry on!”  --  someone will   --  count on it.
 
 
 

One man's view is:
"Everybody talks about the weather because they clearly can't do anything about it."
(Aka: Firemen love to discuss houses that  burnt down out of their jurisdiction.)