January 26, 2008
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Retrospect:
Working BackwardThose who have followed the links here recently may appreciate a short story told by yesterday's lottery numbers in Pennsylvania: mid-day 096, evening 513.
The "96" may be regarded as a reference to the age at death of geometer H.S.M. Coxeter (see yesterday morning's links). The "513" may be regarded as a reference to the time of yesterday afternoon's entry, 5:01, plus the twelve minutes discussed in that entry by presidential aide Richard Darman, who died yesterday.
These references may seem less fanciful in the light of other recent Log24 material: a verse quoted here on Jan. 18--
... Todo lo sé por el lucero puro
que brilla en la diadema de la Muerte.
-- Rubén Darío,
born January 18, 1867-- and a link on Jan. 19 to the following:
The Lion, the Witch
and the Wardrobe:
"But what does it all mean?" asked Susan when they were somewhat calmer.
"It means," said Aslan, "that though the Witch knew
the Deep Magic, there is a magic deeper still which she did not know.
Her knowledge goes back only to the dawn of Time. But if she could have
looked a little further back, into the stillness and the darkness
before Time dawned, she would have read there a different incantation.
She would have known that when a willing victim who had committed no
treachery was killed in a traitor’s stead, the Table would crack and
Death itself would start working backward."
