Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Mid-week Meanderings

This post will stand until the weekend. I shall be otherwise engaged. Currently I have something serious on my plate - some surgery. More on this later on, perhaps.

Anyway, a few odds and ends:




On the environment....
"Your descendants shall gather your fruits." (Virgil)
(Note: no doubt it was implied anyway, within this ancient wisdom that: "whether the fruits be nourishing or poisoned is up to you.")


"And Man created the plastic bag and the tin and aluminum can and the cellophane wrapper and the paper plate, and this was good because Man could then take his automobile and buy all his food in one place and He could save that which was good to eat in the refrigerator and throw away that which had no further use. And soon the earth was covered with plastic bags and aluminum cans and paper plates and disposable bottles and there was nowhere to sit down or walk, and Man shook his head and cried: "Look at this Godawful mess."
Art Buchwald, humorist.





On future potential for revolution - here, there and everywhere:

A poem, by Otto Rene Castillo who was a Guatemalan revolutionary.

One day
the apolitical
intellectuals
of my country
will be interrogated
by the simplest
of our people.

They will be asked
what they did
when their nation died out
slowly,
like a sweet fire
small and alone.

No one will ask them
about their dress,
their long siestas
after lunch,
no one will want to know
about their sterile combats
with "the idea
of the nothing"
no one will care about
their higher financial learning.

They won't be questioned
on Greek mythology,
or regarding their self-disgust
when someone within them
begins to die
the coward's death.

They'll be asked nothing
about their absurd
justifications,
born in the shadow
of the total life.

On that day
the simple men will come.

Those who had no place
in the books and poems
of the apolitical intellectuals,
but daily delivered
their bread and milk,
their tortillas and eggs,
those who drove their cars,
who cared for their dogs and gardens
and worked for them,
and they'll ask:

"What did you do when the poor
suffered, when tenderness
and life
burned out of them?"

Apolitical intellectuals
of my sweet country,
you will not be able to answer.

A vulture of silence
will eat your gut.

Your own misery
will pick at your soul.

And you will be mute in your shame.



On different elemental matters:

In "The Night Sky" by Richard Grossinger, some food for thoughts astrological:

In 1869, the Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev discovered that the chemical properties of the elements (My note: this refers to the non-astrological elements)are periodic functions of their atomic weights, i.e. of the number of protons in their nuclei. When he arranged the then-known elements in a series, he found that there were familial resemblances among elements at regular numerical intervals. For instance, carbon, silicon and tin lie in a series for which the member between silicon and tin was then apparently missing. This was later found to be germanium. Fluourine, chlorine, bromine and iodine constitute another family. Then there's a group of lithium, sodium and potassium; another of nitrogen phosphorus, arsenic and antimony; and so on. Nature contains a hidden periodic function which is basic to form and order in the world. (My note: There are "families" in astrological elements too, at regular numerical intervals - the Fire family Aries, Leo, Sagittarius, the Air family Gemini, Libra, Aquarius etc.) All the other elements are based on the simplest one, hydrogen with its single proton, which is also - we were to find out - the fuel of the stars.

Mendeleev's periodic table, and the reality that lay behind it gave a new basis for understanding the history and evolution of matter. Mathematical relationships determined the seemingly limitless display of forms in nature, from plants and animals to stars and galaxies. It was hauntingly Pythagorean, as Heisenberg would remind us.

The echo of astrological elements and modes and the way they were arranged by ancient astrologers is discernible. They had no knowledge of periodic tables and suchlike, as far as we know.

I have confidence that astrology is more than mere superstition. It's something rooted in the very nature of the universe. Oh - it's rough and ready, imperfect and encumbered with a plethora of unnecessary accessories, but beneath it all there is a gem - just waiting to be discovered.

15 comments:

Wisewebwoman said...

I hope all goes well T. I detect an ominous note that could be the unknown. May the force be with you.
Let us know, please.

XO
WWW

Anonymous said...

Best wishes - always good to have a nip and tuck.

Twilight said...

Wisewebwoman ~ Thank you WWW. For the past 3 weeks I've been dealing with the aftermath of an abnormality found in my routine mammogram. A (thankfully) small mass which after biopsy proved to be cancerous. It's small enough that I'm having just a lumpectomy tomorrow - as outpatient. There's stuff to do today in preparation. Head is all over the place right now, just want it over. After the surgery, in due course, there'll be radiation, perhaps chemo, perhaps not, depending what they decide after examining the thing. I'm 79, I didn't have a long, long road to tread anyway, so I'm luckier than much younger women facing the same issues.

Twilight said...

Anonymous ~ Thank you.

R J Adams said...

I've just been catching up after a long, 'offline' siesta and find you're in that place we all hope we're never going to be. 'A, thankfully, small mass...' well, all I can do is wish you a full and speedy recovery. If I were religious I'd be praying, but I'm not, so I'll just be sending positive thoughts in your direction in the hope they may help. Also, to Anyjazz who won't be in the best place right now.
To echo our dear blogging pal, WWW: Let us know, please.

Twilight said...

RJ Adams ~ Thank you RJ - much appreciated by me and by anyjazz. Will do another comment to all now - change of schedule!

Twilight said...

Wisewebwoman, RJ Adams, and Anonymous ~

Well...we spent around 2 and a half hours at the hospital this morning - for pre-op stuff, bloodwork, eco cardio and chest x-ray. I had the blood work after the usual grilling by the money keeper and form filler. Then we waited...and waited, and waited. Eventually after more than 2hrs anyjazz went to the desk to ask how much longer. He was told - well your surgery isn't until the 27th - but we'll get to you asap. He said - "No it's tomorrow!" "No, I have it here as 27th".

I join in - "I was called late yesterday afternoon informing me that I must have these pre-op tests today, I could attend at any time today, so we came here this morning. Nobody has told me there has been a change. We have been at home the entire time."

Then a further conversation with the surgeon's office - apparently one element of the op teamsn't available - a radiologist who has to do something with a needle that I'd rather not think about! He's not available tomorrow.

Anyway, that's where we stand as of now. My head has become one giant whirlpool. This is like Chinese torture to me, hating as I do anything doctor and hospital related, following some distressing experiences with three of my beloveds, back in the UK.

Sorry to whinge but gotta get it out.

Peace and love to all, and thank y'all again.

A Casual Reader said...

I'm sending you my best thoughts and wishes for your health and future well-being, Twilight. We'll be standing by until you're ready to return to us. Good luck!

Twilight said...

A Casual Reader ~ Thank you so much ACR! I'll probably be around on Saturday and for commentary other days apart from next Tuesday, 27th. Will just have to wing it from here on - once my annoyance dies down.. :)

Jamie said...

Hope all goes well!

Twilight said...

Jamie ~ Thank you kindly, Jamie! :)

LB said...

Twilight ~ I only just read this today, wanted to offer my encouragement. A few years ago I listened to a series of very informative online interviews on breast health offered through the wishsummit.

One of the most startling things I learned was how frequently non-invasive cancers (ductal carcinoma in situ ~ "DCIS", which rarely becomes invasive) are over treated, beginning with an initial false positive during mammogram.

Here are links to an article and one of the WISH Summit interviews with Dr. Moira Dolan:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28894698

http://www.wishsummit.com/moira-dolan

Wishing you all the best.
xoxoxo

Twilight said...

LB ~ Thank you LB - I appreciate your support. :)

Thanks for the links, I shall read them later - am limiting what I read right now on medical stuff!

My smallcancerous tumor is the common invasive type but it IS small and found early. Having the op/procedure tomorrow, lumpectomy. Just done the pre-op tests this morning. Will be an outpatient, but at the hospital all day, probably. There'll be radiation to follow after a while in a few weeks I think. Chemo or not will depend on what they find when they examine the nasty bit - hoping for not, but can't bet on it!

Thanks again for your thoughts.

LB said...

Sorry to hear that, Twilight, though as least it's small which is good news. If it actually is, as you say, the most common type of *invasive* cancer, that would mean it's IDC ~ invasive ductal carcinoma?

If it were me, I'd confirm this with my doctor since I believe the *non-invasive* ductal carcinoma in situ is the most common form found through mammograms. I know how scary all this must be but if that's the case, I hope you'll be your own best advocate and check out the links. Whether you agree or not, at least you'll be making a more informed decision when it comes to the treatment you receive.

Unfortunately, cancer is a big business ~ which means other priorities sometimes come into play.

Good luck, Twilight.:)

Twilight said...

LB ~ I will ask next time I see the surgeon - on 4 April (see today's post). I did get a biopsy report from my original biopsy following mammogram finding, and it did state "invasive", but most of it was gobbledegook to me. :)

Yes, it has crossed my mind that the hospital will get as much profit as possible out of each issue. I've had all manner of tests already, but I could see the reason, from a point of view of making the surgeon's job more easily accurate.

Thank you, once again, LB.