Diary (May 11, 2020)

Online diary of Karl Jones for Monday May 11, 2020.

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Diary

Song of the Day for Howard Kranz

Seventh in a series of songs for Howard and me to cover.

I Ching

A reading from the I Ching (yarrow method), for inspiration:

The present is embodied in Hexagram 42 - I (Increase): There will be advantage in every movement which shall be undertaken, and it will even be advantageous to cross the great stream.

The first line, undivided, shows that it will be advantageous for its subject in his position to make a great movement. If it be greatly fortunate, no blame will be inputed to him.

The fourth line, divided, shows its subject pursuing the due course. His advice to his prince is followed. He can with advantage be relied on in such a movement as that of removing the capital.

The fifth line, undivided, shows its subject with sincere heart seeking to benefit all below. There need be no question about it, the result will be great good fortune. All below will, with sincere heart, acknowledge his goodness. The situation is shifting, and Yin (the passive feminine force) is gaining ground.

• Yang (New)
• Yin (New)
• Yang (New)
• Yin (New)
• Yin (New)
• Yin (New)

The future is embodied in Hexagram 35 - Chin (Progress): We see a prince who secures the tranquility of the people, and is presented on that account with numerous horses by the king. Three times in a day he is received at interviews.

The things most apparent, those above and in front, are embodied by the upper trigram Sun (Wind), which is transforming into Li (Fire). As part of this process, penetration and following are giving way to brightness and warmth.

The things least apparent, those below and behind, are embodied by the lower trigram Chen (Thunder), which is transforming into K'un (Earth). As part of this process, movement, initiative, and action are giving way to docility and receptivity.

Commentary: A golden forecast indeed. Of the 4096 possible readings, I recall none better.

Shining Star

"Shining Star" by Earth, Wind, and Fire.

"Shining Star" by Earth, Wind, and Fire

When you wish upon a star
Your dreams will take you very far
But when you wish upon a dream
Life ain't always what it seems
What'd you see on a night so clear
In the sky so very dear

You're a shining star
No matter who you are
Shining bright to see
What you could truly be (what you could truly be)

Shining star come in to view
Shine its watchful light on you
Give you strength to carry on
Make your body big and strong
Born a man child of the sun
Saw my work had just begun

Found I had to stand alone
Bless it now I've got my own
So, if you find yourself in need
Why don't you listen to these words of heed
Be a giant grain of sand
Words of wisdom, yes I can

You're a shining star
No matter who you are
Shining bright to see
What you could truly be

You're a shining star
No matter who you are
Shining bright to see
What you could truly be

You're a shining star
No matter who you are
Shining bright to see
What you could truly be

Shinning star for you to see
What your life can truly be
Shinning star for you to see
What your life can truly be
Shinning star for you to see
What your life can truly be

— Songwriters: Lorenzo Dunn / Philip Bailey / Maurice White

• Shining Star (Earth, Wind & Fire song) @ Wikipedia
• Shining Star (live) @ YouTube - The Midnight Special
• Shining Star @ YouTube - The Midnight Special

High standards and low character

See anecdotes (some sentimental, some catty, some giving cause for rebuke — some all three ) about Dr. Harvey Cushing.

What an unpleasant bedside manner he must have had. Pity the patients, and the Residents, and the nurses, and the orderlies, and everyone else outside his elite circle of aristocrat-surgeon schoolmate chums.

Put another way:

What a bedside manner he must have lacked.

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvey_Cushing
• https://thejns.org/view/journals/j-neurosurg/30/4/article-p365.xml

Chump Change

We are the Chump Change my friend

And we'll keep on Spending till the end

We are the Chump Change, we are the Chump Change

No time for losers 'cause we are the Chump Change of the world

• We Are the Champions @ Wikipedia

Wee are the Champions

Wee are the Champions is an anonymous monograph, generally attributed to William Butler Yeats, describing the lives and pint-size debaucheries of leprechaun rock stars.

A man should pretend

A man should pretend to be exactly what he is, and nothing else.

Chilblains

"I'll give you the Chilblains" I said to Angus, hustling him out of the kitchen with a quick shuffling of my feet.

Then I realized that I don't know what chilblains are. Perhaps a disease of horses, like glanders? Or some ambiguous medical term from the Medieval-to-Shakespeare era such as [ague]; or even some Apothecke Substance from this era: Bezoardicum, who can say?

So I looked up chilblains on Wikipedia. Consequently, I will never again say or think about "chilblains" while shuffling my feet. Or at any other time, if I can help it. Ouch!

I should have guess: it does have "Chill" in it, almost.

Wikipedia on chilblains:

Chilblains, also known as pernio and chill burns are a medical condition that occurs when a predisposed individual is exposed to cold and humidity, causing tissue damage. It is often confused with frostbite and trench foot. Damage to capillary beds in the skin causes redness, itching, inflammation, and sometimes blisters. Chilblains can be reduced by keeping the feet and hands warm in cold weather, and avoiding extreme temperature changes. COVID-19 may also produce chilblain-like symptoms.

Chilblains can be idiopathic (spontaneous and unrelated to another disease), but may also be a manifestation of another serious medical condition that must be investigated. A history of chilblains suggests a connective tissue disease (such as lupus). Chilblains may also be caused by Raynaud's disease.

In infants, chilblains together with severe neurologic disease and unexplained fevers occurs in Aicardi–Goutières syndrome, a rare inherited condition. Ulcerated chilblains are referred to as kibes.

Vinegar on soda in the Book of Proverbs

Proverbs 25:20

Like one who takes off a garment on a cold day, or like vinegar on soda,

Is he who sings songs to a troubled heart.

• https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Minerals

Thus ever between Man and the Devil

"I wrote to the company [Master Lock] to express my concern [for an easily defeated Master Lock lock] and they offered to send me the exact same model as a replacement."
—Comment on Boing Boing bulletin board

Thus ever between Man and the Devil.

Fiction cross-reference

• Gnomon algorithm
• Gnomon Chronicles

Nonfiction cross-reference

• Karl Jones (nonfiction)
• W. B. Yeats (nonfiction) - William Butler Yeats[a] (13 June 1865 – 28 January 1939) was an Irish poet and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. A pillar of the Irish literary establishment, he helped to found the Abbey Theatre, and in his later years served two terms as a Senator of the Irish Free State. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival along with Lady Gregory, Edward Martyn and others.