When Diagnostics Go WRONG

 

X-rays, blood samples, and the likes are what it takes to form an educated opinion on someone's health. At least it feels safer than what looks too much as guesses and nothing but that. Still, there may be misjudgments, leading to wrong diagnostics, which may end up killing or maiming the patient. 

Also, one should take into consideration that some diagnoses leave a stigma that may follow the patient for years, describing him or her as "weird", "untrustworthy" or downright "treacherous". Something that I take most often is very unfair, as it's very likely that it stems from bad communications: After all, doctor's language isn't the same as the language of the ordinary nonmedically trained patient. 

As it is, I think that it often is much safer to keep to private descriptions of one's more or less "exotic" symptoms than accepting a maybe non-valid diagnosis. The problem is that not being a doctor, one doesn't know for sure that a diagnosis is erroneous, and that one, looking for the right one, may end up in what's called "doctor shopping": One starts out on a very brave Odyssey to find what one believes is "the right diagnosis" - which there still isn't any guarantee that it is ....

OK, now there is what looks like a 99% safe diagnosis, so off we go to find a cure: The patient doesn't like being ill and thus dependent on his/her family or the social system, and the doctor hates not to be the one who heals the wound, sets the physical system right or whatever. A cure is needed and as we don't believe in magic we can't resort to the medicine of former times. We need science, but the science of today may not be the science of tomorrow! To know what that means, I just have to think of what was done to Queen Anne or Henry VIII of England: Not much of it comes short of what we might call torture - useless torture at that, as it didn't cure any of them, and they suffered for years.

As we are not meant to live forever, The Grim Reaper needs what might be called a "safe way" to pay us a visit. Most of us don't like to think about that day, but we KNOW that, sooner or later, it will happen. That being said, I start thinking about illnesses and cures: I would not accept all kind of cures to treat all kind of illnesses. Actually, I consider some of those cures beneath me, just as I do with some actions like e.g. murdering someone to get body parts, a fetus, etc. from them. However, I'm aware that some people have done - or are planning to do - just that, which is one of the backsides of the advances of modern medicine.  

https://clarkmitchell.com/medical-malpractice-erroneous-diagnosis-treatment/ 

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK499956/ 

 

In Danish: https://www.sundhed.dk/borger/patienthaandbogen/sundhedsoplysning/medicininformationer/den-fejlbarlige-medicin/proever-og-test-er-ikke-perfekte/ 

 

In Danish: https://patientsikkerhed.dk/ny-rapport-om-fejldiagnoser-risiko-stoerst-ved-brud-og-kraeft/ 

 

Wikipedia 

The Myth of the Alpha Male

 

Here we see one of the general "Alpha male attitudes". It's very physical in its symbolism: Chin up, chest out, trying to give the impression of being bigger and taller than other men, also straight back and arms "making handles" at the waist. It's obvious that these two guys were showing off as best they could, especially the one to the left: Benito Mussolini. However, it was the shorter one - and he really was very short! - to the right who held the reins, so to speak: The Italian King Victor Emanuel III who played a decisive role in bringing Mussolini to power (1922) as well as removing him (1943). The German friend and associate of Mussolini, Adolf Hitler, positively abhorred this king for being very short as well as down-right ugly. Still, king he was, which gave him a sort of alpha-birth-right, decided by history and politics.

Before the 1990s the terms Alpha and Beta were primarily used in animal ethology, maybe especially in apes. After the publication of Frans de Waal's book "Chimpanzee Politics: Power And Sex Among Apes" (1982) some parallel to humans and human societies became more and more popular. The term "Alpha" attained a kind of cult status when being used about humans, especially men: Everybody from ordinary, but more or less brutal social climbers to all men out to gain power wanted to be called "Alpha men", and those who didn't behave like driven by a wish for power were seen as "Beta men". The purpose of a man wanting to become an "Alpha" would be that he might have more chances of getting sex, but still, it's no guarantee that that would happen. One thing is sure, men took to the idea of "Alpha" and "Beta", not only in animal societies, but also in those of humans.

However, humans are more closely related to the Bonobo, than e.g. the Chimpanzee which should make us proud as they seem smarter and more social. For instance, they know to read the facial expression and behavior of humans. They, who don't live in Patriarchies, but in Matriarchies, have been found capable of altruism, compassion, kindness, patience, and sensitivity. As to "the leader of the pack" it most commonly is a couple of old matriarchs which one might call Alpha females, but it's a more or less meaningless term in this context. Actually, it is not useful to describe what's going on in a human society with terms like "Alpha" and "Beta", but some men, like e.g. Andrew Tate, clings to it as an important part of their identity. I fail to see anything "Alpha" in a man who, like Andrew Tate, resorts to sex trafficking and various sexual crimes to "prove" his masculinity. Chinless and probably lacking other male characteristics, he doesn't strike one as Alpha in any way.

Self-identified "Alpha males" like for instance Andrew Tate get very vulnerable when criticized for not being or looking what they themselves proclaim they are. Criticism is seen as an attack on their very personality, even though it's a construct like e.g. in Mussolini who strutted around, pretending to be some kind of Superman which he clearly wasn't.

 

https://www.calm.com/blog/alpha-male

 

https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/the_myth_of_the_alpha_male 

 

https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/the-science-of-alpha-males-in-animal-species 

 

Wikipedia

He Fought With Joan d'Arc, But May Have Been A Sadistic Murderer of Children

 

Handsome as well as rich and of a noble family of great repute, so why was Gilles de Rais (c. 1404-1440) arrested and executed in 1440? Well, he was tortured, and confessed - not surprisingly - to the horrendous crimes, he was accused of, one of them murdering children. Was he guilty, as claimed, or was he innocent? When one learns that he fought side by side with another executed victim of these rough ages, it's difficult not to suspect foul play: The illustrious Joan of Arc. 

Joan of Arc (1412-1431)  

One of the "crimes" of Joan was that she wore men's clothes, at least sometimes. As both she and Gilles de Rais were active soldiers in the Hundred Years' War, fighting and killing their adversaries, that choice in clothing seems quite rational, but it was part of the accusations against her.

As to Gilles de Rais then he had become the Baron of Retz as a child. Later he became Marshall of France. Both his large inheritances from his parents as well as the dowry from his very wealthy wife made him so rich and powerful that one would have expected him to be untouchable, but no. Somehow that fact may even have made him a special target for the accusations that lead to his death. At least, it's well known that his family wanted to curb his spending a lot of money, e.g. on artists, when returning to his estates after the war. They made the king, then he was made to forbid that he sold his lands. That means that there were strong forces against him at the time when he allegedly started his murder sprees. 

Many children did disappear, and it was obvious that they might very well be abducted by some evil minded individual, but whom? Why would a rich nobleman like Gilles be interested in kidnapping children? Well, in the aftermath of the war he became more and more interested in the occult. He befriended a shady monk by the name of Prelati who was assumed to know a lot about sorcery, the summoning of demons and the like. All of it was of great interest to the war veteran and that didn't go unnoticed by his contemporaries. 

He, the rich nobleman, was accused of torturing and murdering children, and he was sentenced to death after a trial that counted loads of testimonies from more or less trustworthy witnesses. Even today there has been disputes about the validity of the accusations: Did he, or didn't he, do it? I don't think it's possible to know for sure, but the trial and the sentence secured his presumed status of being the world's first serial murderer.

He was executed by hanging, but also he was tortured by a fire being lit and burning beneath his feet. 

 

Wikipedia

 

Britannica

 

https://criminalminds.fandom.com/wiki/Gilles_de_Rais 

Femininity And Muscles

Relna Brewer Mcrae (1919-2017) doesn't look like the Superwoman she was in reality. That fact gave her some special chances of using both her remarkable muscle-strength and her good, very feminine looks. Most other body-builder-women have not had that chance, as the general attitude is that they lost what's considered "femininity" by gaining all those muscles. People feel that a man who is strong is attractive, but women are not. The female gender is supposed to supplant physical strength with gracefulness, otherwise people may assume that they are lesbian "butch types".

As to Relna Brewer Mcrae then she, being 5ft, 115 pound, didn't look as strong as she was which made it possible for her to become the/one of the stuntwomen of the very feminine beauty icon Marilyn Monroe. At the same time, she excelled in weightlifting and bodybuilding, ripping telephone books without any difficulties.

I've always said, that women are stronger than they are aware of, but still not as strong as the male gender: Men are supposed to have 61% more muscle mass, especially in the upper part of the body with up to 90% more muscle mass: The strength of the arms are 75% more than in women. As I like to think that Nature runs by some kind of logic, I do find that surprising as well as not a little annoying. However, normally the male and the female genders of all species don't fight each other, but only persons of their own gender, unless they are locked in, e.g. in cages or the male is out to chase and kill the cubs of the female. (In the world of the humans, to be "locked in" might e.g. be in a marriage which may lead to partner violence).

These women exhibit both strength and femininity, and I take it that nobody might assume that they are "butch", lesbians or not. However, it's interesting that muscles and looks of physical strength signal a sexual preference for some people. It's even more weird that this is/has been used to sort of "shaming" women for looking - and being - strong.
 

I don't know the name of this vintage beauty, but it's obvious that she meant business: "Come and smell my glove at your own peril!!!!" If her adversary was a man, she was up against someone who must have been able to hit harder than her. Her only chance of coming out as the winner of such a fight would be "dirty tricks", smart moves, and luck ....

https://www.girlsgonestrong.com/blog/articles/the-original-girl-gone-strong-part-2-relna-brewer-mcrae/

https://www.venicepaparazzi.com/recent-events-covered/local-celebrity-highlight-relna-brewer-mcrae/

Wikipedia

Female Jokes

 

I don't consider Mae West to be a great actress, but she sure knew how to make a splash, both by acting and giving her opinion on whatever topic she felt needed a female comment by her. That's not as easy for a woman as just opening her mouth and talk, which is obvious when one considers the nature of certain kinds of jokes. As most of these jokes are targeting women, they are made by and for men. To turn them around and use them for women, but targeting men, doesn't really work.

Boobs attain their own place in the male jokes, as does blonde hair, Mother-in-Laws and female car-owners. Many by now old and tired jokes have obtained their special place in the annals of male jokes, and they may still be loved by men, whereas most women find them more or less silly. Maybe those women would like to try their hand at making jokes about men the same way they did about the female sex, but they soon find out that that's difficult for one specific reason: The language and the set imageries have been "masculinized". To talk about blonde guys, fathers-in-law or male car-owners don't set off any torrents of laughter: These topics are not funny to most people because they lack the backdrop of a confirmed humor and a shared language. Boobs, on the other hand, do, but only in a certain context.

Well, male boobs fit more into a derogatory comment than a (more or less) harmless joke, so that wouldn't work as a plan for being swept away in torrents of laughter, even though it may be fun to some. 

No, men and women don't always see eye to eye when it comes to humor: What's fun for a man may not be fun for a woman, who may even be offended by some "innocent" boobs-blonde-Mother-in-Law-car-owner-joke. However, once there was a woman, who knew how to make jokes that were both funny and very special. Many of them are still alive, even though she died many years ago: MAE WEST

Her jokes almost always are a bit "risky" without being vulgar. I would say that they are more of a "suggestive nature" than anything else, but one can't harbor any doubt about what they are about: Men, Sex, and Everything In Between. Some are more like statements and not real jokes, but still funny as they are a clever playing with words and sentiments.

Brooding The Dates That Count

I know it's silly, but I've always felt that some dates are special, so to speak. It's a kind of superstition that I have to confess to, and which I don't know how to explain - not even to myself. However, the fact that the calendar of each year - except leap years - contain the same set of months, weeks and days that is repeated year by year, but most often on different weekdays, intrigues me. To me, it somehow adds to the mystery of time and fate, which actually only is a mystery because I chose to see it that way. For instance, I've always found it "symbolical" that Adolf Hitler died on the date, (but not the year) of my birthday: It feels good, like an achievement ....

This gentleman, Karl Marx, who was the spiritual father of Communism, died on the 14th of March 1883, i.e. 142 years ago. That was after the birth of the last zar of Russia, Nicholas II (1868-1918), and they never met, although the ideas of Karl were used against Nicholas and his family when they were killed. Somehow I find it interesting, that Nicholas abdicated on a date very close to the anniversary of the death of Karl: The 15th of March 1917. On that day, the more than 300 years old Russian Empire vaporated, so to speak. 

As we know from William Shakespeare, the 15th of March is a very special day of the calendar: In his play about Julius Cesar we find the famous quote by a fortune-teller "beware the Ides of March" which is just another way of writing this specific date. Somehow, that date has been associated with misfortune and doom, which it certainly was for Julius Cesar who was murdered in 44 BCE on the 15th of March. However, I suspect that it only had its bad reputation because of Shakespeare, as I'm not sure when this superstition started out.

 

When it comes to "bad days", the Danes have an expert on dangerous days in the nobleman and astronomer, Tycho Brahe (1546–1601). He made a special calendar of 32 days that he saw as ominous, just "bad" or unlucky: Something to watch out for. 

Based on the Julian calendar:

 

January 1, 2, 4, 6, 11, 12, 29

February 11, 17, 18

March 1, 4, 14, 15

April 9, 16, 17, 18, 19, 22, 29

May 10, 17, 18

June 6

July 17, 21

August 20, 21

September 16, 18

October 6

November 6, 18

December 6, 11, 18

(From Wikipedia)

These specific days were supposed to be unlucky to perform certain tasks such as getting married, starting a journey, and so on. 

Superstition? Yes, and I hope that nobody let themselves get caught up in it in modern times, but at the same time I'm glad that my birthday was of a date very close to, but not the same as, one of the "unlucky days" .... 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_15 

 

https://www.idm314.org/ 

 

https://www.nationaldaycalendar.com/national-day/national-honesty-day-april-30 

 

https://www.britannica.com/on-this-day/March-14 

 

https://www.univ.ox.ac.uk/news/the-assassination-of-rasputin/ 

 

Wikipedia

 

 

 

 

Previously Published on Yahoo 360, March 2007: "Uncover Your Left Shoulder ...."

 

Marianne Larsen (born 1951) is a very well-known, Danish poet - but at the same time she is not very well known. The critics love her, her fans love her, but she is not one of those writers who "make a stir" in the media. No, somehow she is not as well known as e.g. the more flashy Pia Tafdrup who is another acclaimed poet in Denmark of 2007. Marianne Larsen is not as highly profiled, even though she is still considered one of the very best Danish poets today, i.e. in 2025.

 

"Uncover your left shoulder

Press your lips against something missing there

Maybe close your eyes

Slowly sit down on the floor

in the corner of an empty room 

Stay in that position all day long

Fall asleep in that position

Stay where you are, even when you're asleep

You may open your eyes, if you wake up" 

 

In the 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s she was a decidedly political poet, but still with her own distinct voice, actually making her the only major Danish, political poet of that time. However, the intent may be clear, but the tone is not what one expects in a political poet. No simplistic and poetically inept hailing to the socialist state or ideologies, but an indignation at ordinary humans' lives and general circumstances in modern society. Even at that time, she had a somewhat naive faith in language as the means of setting free the human spirit, and thus the humans themselves. Language and words always were some of her favorite themes, and she tests their power and impact over an over again.

 

"We put our arms around each other

A Pair of ordinary tax-paying human arms

Not to rest them

But to harden them 

A pair of ordinarily hugging

Human Arms

We put them around each other

They are health-insured and ordinarily dressed

A pair of ordinary love-interpreting

Human arms

How strong they are

Sovereign, independent -

No matter where

No matter What the hour

No matter what the season

Suddenly, and for all time 

Human arms

Without speculation

We put them around each other

As if to show that their powerlessness

doesn't exist" 

 

In the 1990s she published four autobiographical novels, "Guess Who Loves You", "Alien Happiness", "Gallery Reality", and "Guests of Each Other" which tell the story of a young girl, by the name of Bodil, who grows up in the country in the 1950s and 1960s, and moves on to the political and artistic circles of the 1970s and 1980s. I don't think these novels come up to the level of her poetry, but they are interesting to read as gateways to her life and personality.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marianne_Larsen