#Agent Thoth's #Personal Log: Day 1000

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Agent Thoth discusses more of the trials and tribulations associated with living with hominids. Incidentally, if you've missed Agent Thoth's earlier entries, you can find them here: Thoth's Journal

Department for the Preservation and Confirmation of Intelligent Life (DPCIL)

Agent Thoth's Personal Log

Day One-Thousand:

Recently, my hominid-servant has been failing to prioritize filling my food bowl upon her rising. Yes, of course, there is usually already food in the bowl when she finishes her sleeping cycle, but the remainders of the previous day’s food are not the same as fresh food, and so are not acceptable. Also, aside from the requirement that the food be kept fresh, having my hominid-servant’s first actions of the day revolve around me helps to ensure that her focus is where it should be, on my need and desires.

Towards those ends, I am attempting to retrain my hominid-servant in proper priorities by weaving my body between her legs, thus making it difficult for her to walk. My goal is to redirect her steps towards where the food and food bowl are located. Unfortunately, I have so far only managed to get my feet and tail trampled upon repeated. Hominids, in general, are not graceful creatures, and this is especially true when they are newly emerged from a sleep cycle. To add insult to injury, when she does step on me, she generally scolds me for it as if it is my fault she was heading in the wrong direction. *sigh* It seems that training hominids is a never-ending task.

Poor Thoth. Dealing with such inferior creatures all the time must be quite taxing. ;-) You may have noticed that Agent Thoth has a new look. I hope you like his new picture as much as I do, but I'd love to hear your thoughts, either way. Feel free to let me know what you think in the comments. ;-) Happy reading, everyone!

When Anger Needs An Outlet...

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Today, I want to talk about something I noticed a while back but don't think I've ever blogged about. Every time there's a Trump rally, it really reminds me of the "two minutes hate" from 1984. It seems like a bunch of people are frustrated and angry about the fact that it's virtually impossible for regular people to get ahead in this country. The American Dream gets further and further away from realization for most people, and they're looking for someone to blame. Much like the people in Orwell's 1984.

Also like Orwell's characters, a lot of people in this country seem to have difficulty articulating what is bothering them. They know there's something wrong; they know they're getting screwed. But they have a hard time identifying and naming the source of the problem. Partly through lack of education, but also partly due to a systematic failure by our media to do their job. So there are a lot of people who exist in a perpetual state of discontent, but they have no concrete nemesis to hang the blame on.

Enter Trump with his facility for creating scapegoats. "It's the Mexicans!" "It's the Muslims!" "It's MS-13!" Do most of these people have any personal difficulties with anyone in any of these groups? Not for the most part. They almost certainly have some general racism and xenophobia incorporated into their world view, but I doubt most of the people at Trump rallies have any close, personal experience interacting with a member of the MS-13 gang. Or maybe it's four Congresswomen of color. Congresswomen who have had the temerity to speak out boldly against the president. Perhaps they're to blame for all the troubles his supporters are plagued by. Maybe if they "went back where they came from" everything would be good and the systematic injustice that is tearing this country apart would cease to exist.

I'm being sarcastic, obviously, but I think that's the psychological mechanism at work here. Trump gives his followers a focus for their anger and the opportunity to express it freely. This leads to a catharsis of sorts, one that's amplified by the fact that they're experiencing it surrounded by so many other people who are experiencing it with them. If they all feel it, it must be real, right? And it feels fucking fantastic to let all that anger out. To finally have someone to blame and validation for their feelings by their fellow Trumpnitized and their dear leader.

And like the characters in 1984, I think they come to crave that release. I think it becomes a drug to them. And it doesn't matter what he says; whether his speech is hateful and obscene, or whether it's simply nonsensical. Because it's not about the sharing of ideas; it's about the way it makes them feel to stand in a crowd of people and express the rage that dwells within them and have it justified by the fact that it's shared. They can hear anything they want to hear in his rhetoric because he rarely actually says anything. But it's the emotion that brings them back for more.

Peace!

Two Minutes Hate, 1984, George Orwell

"The horrible thing about the Two Minutes Hate was not that one was obliged to act a part, but, on the contrary, that it was impossible to avoid joining in. Within thirty seconds any pretence was always unnecessary. A hideous ecstasy of fear and vindictiveness, a desire to kill, to torture, to smash faces in with a sledge-hammer, seemed to flow through the whole group of people like an electric current, turning one even against one's will into a grimacing, screaming lunatic. And yet the rage that one felt was an abstract, undirected emotion which could be switched from one object to another like the flame of a blowlamp...

...At this moment the entire group of people broke into a deep, slow, rhythmical chant of 'B-B! ...B-B!' -- over and over again, very slowly, with a long pause between the first 'B' and the second-a heavy, murmurous sound, somehow curiously savage, in the background of which one seemed to hear the stamp of naked feet and the throbbing of tom-toms. For perhaps as much as thirty seconds they kept it up. It was a refrain that was often heard in moments of overwhelming emotion. Partly it was a sort of hymn to the wisdom and majesty of Big Brother, but still more it was an act of self-hypnosis, a deliberate drowning of consciousness by means of rhythmic noise."

Something Worth Watching?

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I'm back today with another video I wanted to share. This is something exciting that I thought you'd all like to know about but might not have heard. But I'll let the video explain. Peace! :-)

Corn Salad #Recipe!

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Here's another salad recipe for you that's perfect for this hot summer weather. Enjoy! :-)

Ingredients:
4 cups corn kernels frozen or fresh
2 bell peppers (any color) diced
1 red onion diced
1 jalapeno pepper seeded and chopped
4 green onions chopped
2 roma tomatoes diced
1 cup red cabbage shredded
1/2 cup basil leaves chopped
1 cup cilantro leaves chopped
4 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic minced
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp cumin
Salt and pepper to taste

If you're using frozen corn, thaw it and drain it thoroughly. If you're using fresh corn, boil or grill it and cut it from the cobs. Put the prepared corn kernels in a bowl and add the rest of the ingredients except the oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, cumin, and garlic. Toss the vegetables and herbs together.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients and pour the dressing over the salad. Stir it to coat evenly. Sprinkle the salad with parmesan or queso fresco, if desired. Serve chilled.

Bon Appetit!

Scorching #Reads #Summer #Giveaway! $100 #Cash #Grand #Prize! #Free To #Enter!

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There's a new giveaway for Summer!  Please take a moment to check out the Scorching Reads Summer Giveaway!!  There are lots of awesome books and prizes!! :-)  It's free to enter, there are over 66 prizes, and the grand prize is $100 cash payable through PayPal!! :-)  Now isn't that worth taking a few minutes to check out? ;-)   Here are all the details:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thank you so much for stopping by today!  And don't forget to check back tomorrow for the next installment of Mistral Dawn's Musings! :-)

How Long Can We Play Russian Roulette Before We Lose?

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I watched the National Geographic series, The Hot Zone, a couple months ago. I had read the book when I was a kid along with another book by the same author, The Demon in the Freezer. And I'll get it out of the way, as good as the series was, the book was better. But watching the series reminded me of something I wrote a couple of years ago when there was a lot of speculation in the news about the healthcare legislation the Republicans were so ashamed of that they had to hide it from the American people for weeks. It occurred to me at the time that, in this country, we have set up the perfect set of circumstances to ensure that the next time a dangerous pathogen pops up, it will turn into a runaway epidemic virtually overnight.

There are millions of people with no health insurance, and millions more with such shoddy insurance that they might as well have no insurance. And all those people probably won't go to the doctor when they get sick. Because who wants to bankrupt themselves to be told they have the flu, drink plenty of liquids and stay in bed? Especially when staying home from work isn't an option if they want to keep their jobs. Because those tend to be the same people who have little to no sick time and bosses who are anything but understanding when it comes to illness. So they'll likely go to work anyway. And their jobs probably either involve direct contact with the public or working in a closely-packed cubicle environment, possibly even sharing a desk with one or more co-workers. All of which will give the pathogen plenty of opportunities to spread.

And, remember, once those sick people start making their way to emergency rooms, no one will know what's going on, at first. I've worked in a hospital laboratory; I've seen first-hand how often sanitary procedures are neglected by overworked, under-staffed hospital personnel when handling specimens that contain biohazardous material. After all, if you're an ER nurse and your patient is bleeding out, and the doctor is screaming for test results, are you going to take the few extra seconds to check to make absolutely sure the specimen container is properly closed and sealed in a plastic bag before sending it through the pneumatic tube system? Every single time? Even after you've worked your fifth 14-hour shift in a row on your feet the whole time? All it takes is one mistake where infectious material leaks and becomes aerosolized. And, again, no one will know what they're dealing with at the beginning.

Then there are all the cuts in budgets for government agencies and the appointment of people whose only goals are to dismantle the agencies they've been put in charge of. Something the current administration excels at and has made a habit of. So, any efforts by public health personnel to institute containment protocols will be severely understaffed and underfunded, and will also lack competent leadership and direction.

Periodic outbreaks of disease are inevitable. Microorganisms evolve constantly and, eventually, something will manifest that is dangerous to human beings. The first few days, weeks, and months in dealing with an emerging infection are crucial in determining whether or not it can be contained. Proper monitoring, which health professionals are a big part of, and swift and effective mobilization of resources can be the difference between a handful of cases and a pandemic.

No one can predict what the next deadly outbreak will be caused by. It could be something as familiar to us as a particularly virulent strain of influenza, something known but uncommon like ebola virus, something that makes its way into new territory thanks to climate change expanding the territory of a vector species like hemorrhagic dengue fever, or something we've never seen before. But what should be obvious to everyone is that, right now, we have such a perfect storm situation for a public health disaster that it almost sounds like the plot for a movie or a book. If it wasn't so terrifying it would be hilarious.

#APC #Spotlight: Sigrun (Bandamann Saga Book 1) By Deidre Mapstone!

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I've got Deidre Mapstone in my APC spotlight, today! Deidre is an active and supportive member of the  Authors-Professional Co-op Facebook group and her young adult, family history, Atlantis, fantasy novel, Sigrun, looks great! Here's the description:

The Lundgrens own and operate Sigrun: A family restaurant on the shores of Mount Desert Island, Maine. They are a hard working, every day, American family. But like every family, they have their secrets, some stranger than others. The way these secrets unfold may surprise you. 

Their tale begins with a familial ease considered unique to most, but their seemingly perfect relationships are ordinary compared to what hides beneath the surface.

 If you think this sounds like something you might enjoy, go ahead and grab your copy here:

Thank you all so much for stopping by! Happy reading! :-)