This is a reboot of a post I made a year ago when I first started my blog. It is no less relevant today – maybe even more so with our current political leadership obstinately ignoring environmental health concerns and families struggling with a government shutdown. That said, here is a piece on Halloween!
Continue reading A One Health Take on HalloweenCategory Archives: Nature & Garden
Travel: A Giant Rock and a Mix of Cultures, but also Monkeys
Did you know there is a British territory, a peninsula, connected to Spain via a sandy isthmus (which mostly holds an airport)? It is known as Gibraltar (Arabic: Jabal Tariq) and the bulk of the terrain is a giant rock, aptly named “the rock of Gibraltar”, with a smaller area of low, flat land surrounding the rock, which is where most of the houses, hotels, shops, and restaurants are, as well as the ports, obviously. Gibraltar generates most of its revenue through the UK military, tourism, as well as the shipping industry that brings in exports and such – but I’m not an economist, so this is the least interesting thing about Gibraltar to me.
Continue reading Travel: A Giant Rock and a Mix of Cultures, but also Monkeys
Silence of the Swallowtail
“It’s easier to run down the mountain than to walk it!” my partner shouted to me as we were descending Humpback Rock. Except, he wasn’t the one carrying the backpack with our waters and half-eaten charcuterie box from the day before (precariously wrapped in a cup and some napkins).
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After Virtue, After Invasion
Continue reading After Virtue, After Invasion“Imagine that the natural sciences were to suffer the effects of a catastrophe. A series of environmental disasters are blamed by the general public on the scientists. Widespread riots occur, laboratories are burnt down, physicists are lynched, books and instruments are destroyed. Finally a Know-Nothing political movement takes power and successfully abolishes science teaching in schools and universities, imprisoning and executing the remaining scientists.”
A Bit of Whimsy for the Week
Here are some things I captured this week
First, Butterflies and bees have serious substance abuse issues, just like humans. These butterfly bushes (not planted by me) are sugary sweet and boy do they love it! [Research: substance abuse in non-human animals]
Continue reading A Bit of Whimsy for the Week
Influenza and Zoonosis
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.
Continue reading Influenza and Zoonosis
F*ck. Does This Mean I’m Getting COVID This Year?
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.
Continue reading F*ck. Does This Mean I’m Getting COVID This Year?
My Favourite Podcasts
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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“Artivism”
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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What is Public Broadcasting?
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?
Continue reading What is Public Broadcasting?
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