All posts by Desiree Zona

Human Health, Nature & Garden

Influenza and Zoonosis

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In my last post I used a photo of an old (positive) test result for COVID (this is also an old photo of my sweet baby, hence the grainy appearance) and I noticed it included Influenza A and B as possible results as well, which got me thinking about the flu and wondering how much people know what the flu even is. The question also ties into vaccines and how experts decide on which “strain” to use – and do people even know what they mean by strain?!

Ok, that’s a LOT to cover, so I’ll try to keep it all simple. First, let’s define what zoonosis is – this is a hot topic for One Health.

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Human Health, Nature & Garden

F*ck. Does This Mean I’m Getting COVID This Year?

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Now that our Department of Health and Human Services (D-HHS) is being run by someone with no scientific background or training and touts pseudoscience and fringe ideas, we are facing a potential health crisis.

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Food and Nutrition, Human Health, Nature & Garden, Opinion piece

My Favourite Podcasts

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This is a bit of a deviation from One Health and my usual posts, but I just wanted to confess something. I’m a podcast junkie.

I love learning about new stuff and topical formats have always been my favourite. Also, lately, I can’t take another second of news and current events. It’s nauseating and my brain needs a detox. I actually feel that political current events might be rotting my brain.

So, whenever I need a break, these are my go-to podcasts!

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Food and Nutrition

Eggplant!

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  1. Origin
  2. Modern Cultivation
  3. Impact
  4. Nutritional Profile
  5. Dietary Concerns
  6. How to Eat it
  7. Recipe: Stuffed Eggplant

Origin

This was a little easier to parse out than the broccoli origin story. Turns out, wild type aubergine originated on the eastern parts of Africa1 (notably, from Kenya to South Africa) and spreading outward towards the west. In a single event, however it made its way to India and East Asia where the cultivated strains predominately begin. This certainly explains why there are so many amazing dishes featuring eggplant/aubergine at Ethiopian restaurants, as well as Indian and Chinese restaurants.

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Human Health, Nature & Garden, Opinion piece

“Artivism”

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UPDATED: I was floundering in one of my unfocussed days, typing a million disparate thoughts, unable to make them meld properly. This is, perhaps, partly to do with the inherent abstract nature of art and the subjectivity surrounding it. I want to say something, but I am unable to find the right words in the right order. I’ve not rewritten, but I’ve tweeked a few lines to make them more cohesive.

I’ve been thinking a lot about how we use art in activism lately. We create signs for protests, write songs and stories, make documentaries…. City streets are littered with graffiti – everything from murals depicting a civil rights event to simple written messages.

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Travel

Our Hikes: Isle of Skye

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I wish we had two more days on Skye. Between the delay in renting our 9-seater sprinter van, the screw that got jammed into the tire resulting in a flat, and the already tight schedule, there was much we didn’t get to see on Skye. Talisker whiskey distillery, Dunvegan Castle, and the Quiraing mountains, to name a few of our missed opportunities.

But all was not lost and we had a fun adventure, nonetheless. Adventures driving a huge van on single-lane roads, sheep getting in the way, and a few added pitstops to see something beautiful that was not on the itinerary – something that is in endless supply in the Scottish Highlands and Islands. Here is a brief breakdown of the hikes we managed to fit in, what I thought of them, and if I recommend them (the answer, by the way, is yes. Yes, you should definitely do all of them).

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Human Health, Nature & Garden

What is Public Broadcasting?

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I thought I knew – but it seems I’ve opened up a can of worms that is taking way more effort to digest and understand. I thought “hey, let’s help spread the word about the importance of public broadcasting!” Now I need to figure out how we communicate across the nation. Either way, let’s also see if we can figure out what this administration just cut funding for, shall we?

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Human Health, Nature & Garden, Opinion piece, Travel

A Haggis Hiatus

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Hi, everyone! How have you been?

I just returned from my vacation in the UK (all around Scotland and then a stint to London) and decided to disconnect while I was gone, hence my silence over the past two weeks..

Can’t say I’m super thrilled to be back – the second we touched down in D.C., reality pelted us hard, right upside the head like a noxious smell you weren’t expecting. One sad or embarrassing story after another about the happenings in the grand U.S. of A. came flooding into our phones and I realized coming back was a terrible idea.

Sigh.

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Nature & Garden

I Think We Are Being Invaded by Aliens

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First there was one pile. Then a second. A third, fourth, fifth….I’ve lost count. I’ve stopped paying attention to how many piles I am finding, and have grown more interested in the color changes this life form is experiencing. From yellow to orangish to white. This extra terrestrial looking creature seems to bleach in the sun like coral in the reefs. It even looks like coral – well, up close it does. When you see it splattered about in a pile when it first appears, it definitely brings to mind the look of bile and foam that’s just been hacked up by your canine companion. The species: colloquially known as Dog Vomit Slime Mold.

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Human Health, Opinion piece

What It Means to be American: Part One

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It feels like the world is burning around me, literally and figuratively. Wildfires, wars, and hate-fueled politicians riling up their base to spread more hate…and an occasional Waymo car – that was us. Well, not me, specifically, but that was ‘team left of the middle’, burning with their own rage against the Federal police-state in Los Angeles. They call it a victimless crime to burn a driverless car, but there is no such thing. I can, at the very least, understand their anger, if not their actions.

Continue reading What It Means to be American: Part One →