Kai’s Diary — Jan 8: A 2nd Pandemic Holiday
April 14, 1912, 12:25 am — Yes, the boat hit the iceberg, but putting the children in lifeboats is the most destructive thing imaginable to their psyche. It’s time for us to stop all this evacuation talk and just complete the voyage.
April 14, 1912, 1:30 am — Yes, the first seven watertight compartments are now flooded with frigid North Sea water, but it’s time for us to stop being ruled by our fears and get back to our normally scheduled travel. We MUST open the shuffleboard courts on the lido deck.
April 14, 1912, 1:55 am — Look at the children’s faces when they’re in lifeboats. They’re frightened. They’re confused. They don’t want to be here. Their parents don’t want them there. We need to put them back on the boat, whose deck is now pitched at 90 degrees.
It’s time to declare this sinking OVER.
April 14, 1912, 2:05 am — Look, I too want to survive this sinking, but I look at how people insist on wearing constrictive life-vests and taking to lifeboats, and I sympathize with those who want to spend their time drilling holes in the hull. Better to show this ocean we don’t fear it than to cower.
April 14, 1912, 2:20 am — Do you know what a full evacuation of this sinking ship will DO to our scheduled arrival time?
The cure can’t be worse than the *glub glub glub*…
If you’re wondering, yes, this is what it looks like to participate in western social media these days, it might as well be the Titanic sinking while an alarming number of both educated and uneducated, professionals or not, are arguing for an end to precautions and mandates. They’ve just had enough of trying to protect themselves from death already. I wish I were joking. Previous pandemics show the pattern was the same though, history is constantly repeating itself, and in the 1918–1920’s H1N1 Spanish Flu pandemic, the last wave was the worst because people were sick and tired of caring about their lives. We didn’t have internet or vaccines back then, though. We should be more intelligent and better, but human nature is what it is. I wonder if Western media would still say China was too strong and draconian in our pandemic preventions, or if they’d quietly eat their hats in peace.
“I got banned from Facebook for two days for making a joke. In a crisis, jokes are not allowed,”
I got banned from Facebook for two days for making a joke. In a crisis, jokes are not allowed, and sarcasm is not a socially acceptable way to make a point, I suppose. At least on Facebook. A Facebook friend posted, “We need to open the schools now; the children are suffering.” I replied, “why don’t we just bury them alive and save time.” I shared this with Mavor, and he had a good laugh- intelligent, balanced individuals recognize this is both a joke and make the apt point that opening schools in a pandemic with unvaccinated kids is not a good idea. Facebook AI moderators aren’t smart enough yet to draw the same conclusions, and now, somewhere in the cloud, FB considers me a psychopath. It’s a shame, but since I lost a friend yesterday by asking her to clarify very poor-faith arguments, I suppose I’ll keep more friends just by staying off the platform anyway.
What were her arguments, you ask? Well, thanks for asking. She’d posted a Lancet study (a very reliable source, I told her) suggesting the difference between infectivity between vaccinated and unvaccinated people was only about 2%. She drew from that that vaccines were not effective. I asked her to clarify, effective AT WHAT? If the question is, can they stop people from spreading the virus, then yes, 2% is not a big difference. But she wasn’t considering viral load, the amount of virus vaccinated and unvaccinated people have, how sick they are, how sick the people they spread it to get, and the fact that -Xiaolin calls, “Kai, it’s time for class!” I guess I’ll pick it up two hours later, and I hope I remember my thought.
An hour later, with a 15-minute break, I try to pick up the shattered pieces of my concentration. When I was young, I enjoyed my life without worrying about how I spent those years. Now I’m an old young man or a young, old man, and I am aware time is my most valuable resource. It’s not an infinite one, so I try to spend it well. Mostly, I succeed. I have great classes, and not so great ones, great days, and ok ones. I generally avoid the bad ones, except when fate provides. Luckily, they’re not in abundance- for which I am grateful.
Oh yes, I believe the point she was not taking into account is that not all infections are equal. Far from it, months and months ago, I put out a research paper citing 31 sources that showed very much that viral load was a key factor in the outcome. Two mask-to-mask (tiny escape/viral load) infections might result in mainly asymptomatic infections, enough to register on a test, but no one is getting sick. The body simply can adapt fast enough to fight it. This is why most cases are asymptomatic in high compliance countries where mask use is high, and NPIs are well executed. But a case where a person gets a cough into the mouth unmasked from one infected to another might be deadly- the body is simply overwhelmed with trillions of particles and can not fight it off. I say that to say this — someone saying, “we don’t need vaccine mandates because both vaccinated people and unvaccinated people are almost equally likely to spread the virus, while they are correct in the latter is wrong in the former. A society full of unvaccinated people spreading Omicron will have many sick and dead people. Studies show that it’s only 11% less infectious among unvaccinated than the Delta variant but in a highly vaccinated society. However, the virus will still spread. It will be mainly asymptomatic or minor, cold-like symptoms- 2 days of sore throat, sniffles, runny nose and sneezing, and very little serious illness. So, of course, vaccines are as important as ever, and their advice is not only factually wrong, it’s dangerous.
I posted a link to an article saying most people in the ICU are unvaccinated. They said I could show you a headline that says the opposite. I asked to see one. They sent me this, and you have to admit, it looks awfully photoshopped, faked, and not even a good fake. I told them so and asked what the source was. They ignored my question. I asked them, can you clarify what are you getting at? What are your thoughts on the vaccine? They fired back, hurt that I had labeled them an anti-vaxxer, and attacked their credibility. I believe they are a bit too sensitive to be discussing such serious matters if they can’t even engage in civil discourse. They sent me a message asking why I was discrediting them — as if asking for clarification was in itself an attack. By the time I saw the message, a few minutes later, they’d already blocked me — asking me why and then not letting me answer.
On the one hand, I could say… they’re a fool, and it’s no loss. Perhaps a hairdresser shouldn’t argue epidemiology with a published COVID author and journalist. But that reminds me of a time when I was pushing for masks and a public health official with 20 years of experience with the CDC made fun of me — an English Major, for trying to report on the pandemic with any authority. The idea doesn’t sit well with me. On further consideration, no, they are not the same: while that person mocked me and blocked me when it became clear they’d been wrong, and masks were needed, I had only asked for clarification, to examine data points, to use the scientific method and polite discourse to get to the bottom of the important issues we were discussing. It was not the same thing at all.
To be clear, I don’t believe this headline is real. Not only does it look fake, but it is also illogical: most people in serious care are not vaccinated. The only way most people in the ICU would be vaccinated is if there are no longer any unvaccinated people, and, that way, a very small percentage of all cases would remain serious- it would still be a great thing, at that point, because it would mean the number of people in ICU would be a very small number. This is the context required to understand numbers, news, and headlines. I don’t think you need a college degree to understand the world, but it sure doesn’t hurt.
One of the saddest parts of the pandemic is people trying to be different and open-minded about science while real human costs and lives are on the line. Please think twice before you share an anti-vax meme- have you done your best to verify it? Do you really believe this? If someone you loved took it to heart and died, how would you feel about yourself later?
At least this interaction, as sad as it made me, got me fired up enough to finish this damn blog. Not only that, but I’ve decided to publish the sequel to Kai’s Diary as the Year of the Rat — starting in March, tracking the pandemic around the world, with a dozen bloggers on six continents, as they detailed how it hit them, and how their governments managed or mismanaged the pandemic. The difference with my experience in China is striking. Likely I can continue with Year of the Ox and Year of the Tiger and then either cap it at a four-book pandemic series of nonfiction or keep going for a dozen years and migrate into our climate fight, with the capstone of my philosophical musings being the work that will become “Solarpunk: An Optimist’s Guide to the Apocalpyse” which will hopefully be a tongue in cheek look at how China’s energy transformation saves the world. To be determined, but fingers crossed.
Just to leave this somewhere and move on — I want to say — if you give bad pandemic advice that could kill people, I’m going to call you out and challenge you to support your facts with data. That doesn’t mean I don’t love you. It means your feelings aren’t worth lives. Read that again: your feelings aren’t worth lives.
“In the Western world’s brittle cancel-culture of convenience, at any time but especially in this current climate, any old dear friend or even a family member can be just an awkward 5-minute conversation away from being blocked — and possibly unfriended in real life.”
In the Western world’s brittle cancel-culture of convenience, at any time but especially in this current climate, any old dear friend or even a family member can be just an awkward 5-minute conversation away from being blocked — and possibly unfriended in real life. I posted my feelings online (shortly before my joke and the banning), and this was my friend Steve The Viking’s empathetic comment: “The very idea that this person — who isn’t the researcher who came up with any data — considers sharing info and unsubstantiated opinions as their own *so much* that anyone questioning it is “discrediting” them blows my mind. They’ve attached themselves to a “side” so completely that it has become a part of their identity — they identify themselves by their connection to their opinions, and anything that confronts the “information” they share is seen as an attack on their character. *sigh*.”
I think this explains many problems with discourse and nuance on the internet today and why there is so much resistance to ending the pandemic. People don’t understand the news, and they don’t want to clarify their misunderstanding. They simply want their opinions to be true. I wish we spent more energy promoting education in the west. I learned so much living in China that I wish I could give back to my countrymen, so I will try to share the glimmers and nuggets that I mine, one blog at a time.
Christmas 2021 was nice and easy. The school gave me a day off, and we had a nice break. We took Ethan to Paradise walk for a hamburger feast at USA chain Lights burgers. That night, I got invited to the Chongqing’ Geezer’s Club,’ a group of senior writers and poets, and we had a fantastic feast, turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and the works. It was a lovely Christmas eve.
I guess as Chongqing’s youngest grandfather, I’m an honorary geezer. I mean, I’m thrilled to have attained this honorific so early in my life- I can hold this esteemed position for another half a century at least, with some luck and healthy living, let alone transhumanist scientific breakthroughs. I believe Yuval Noah Harari when he says they’re coming soon (in a BBC interview) if you save your pennies for a rainy day.
Speaking of Harari, one of the most brilliant nonfiction writers alive, I’m reading some ‘smart people’ books and classics over the winter, including ’21 lessons for the 21st Century’ (Harari), The Philosophy of Aristotle, and going to delve into the classics again, Homer’s Illiad and Oddessy, as I reread Aristotle’s Poetics. I think Plato’s Republic would be good for a revisit before I watch the Matrix 4 again, too. It is our next big theatrical release in China. It’s a good time for us here to contemplate philosophy and the meaning of life; what is real, and what matters? Plato’s ‘Allegory Of The Cave’ is a theory put forward by Plato about human perception, claiming that knowledge gained through the senses is no more than opinion and that, in order to have real knowledge, we must gain it through philosophical reasoning. It goes hand in hand with simulation theory, “Forty years ago we had Pong — two rectangles and a dot,” said Elon Musk on the possibility of humans living the simulation theory. That’s where we were. Now 40 years later, we have photorealistic 3D simulations with millions of people playing simultaneously, and it’s getting better every year. The new installment revisits these seminal philosophical ideas and offers us an update that includes a meta-awareness of WB and HBOMax reviving old franchises to sell TV streaming subscriptions. I don’t know how the box office in China will do — there might not be a lot of brand recognition of the Matrix Trilogy, although Keanu Reeves is pretty popular, and I’m not sure how many people here read Plato, but I’ll be there opening weekend, and I’ll enjoy it all the same. This comes after my last week at work, just before my month-long Spring Festival Holiday, where I’ll be revising and editing Amos the Amazing for drafts #4 and #5.
Christmas Day, I got to spend with my close friends, and we had a nice hangout. I m grateful again for Chongqing and China’s reasonable, strict epidemic management that has given us more freedom than almost any other country in. the world once we earned it through collective effort and compliance with science-based guidelines.
“It’s your Outlook on life that counts. If you take yourself lately and don’t take yourself too seriously, pretty soon you can find the humor in our every day lives. And sometimes it can be a lifesaver.” — Betty White. (Rest in Peace)
“Every day I’m buffering.”
Every day I’m buffering. I’m grateful, but I’m drawn thin- a man can only serve so many masters at once, doubly half, if he’s a proud one. I’m lucky in that the muse visits me frequently, but I’ve found it doesn’t go over well when in the middle of a nice, healthy lunch, I throw my chopsticks down and jump up out of my chair and run off into my office to open 4 notepads and 5 word documents and start pulling at my hair while I howl and groan. So instead, I must buffer. The idea must stay central in my mind, and as the wheel spins, the next three steps begin to spin also, open this document, make that change, and so on, and I must keep this present and central in my mind, lest I forget, lest the muse be offended. So the part of my mind that is mindful, central, and available to enjoy lunch with Xiaolin shrinks by the second, and as long as all I have to do is feed myself and smile, I should be fine. But then the clean-up comes, and I’m washing dishes and wiping counters, all the while my limited RAM is running out of space to keep track of the “open tabs” on my creative to-do list. Then something as simple as Xiaolin asking me to borrow the cloth that I’m presently using to wash a wok becomes confusing… you want to use this? But I’m using this… what will I use? my mind is too small — memory error — — close some tabs to continue. She might say, can you wash this first, then give it to me, then be careful, you’re spilling water on the counter, then this — then that — The worst thing I would do was snarl and howl that my mind is full, and I can’t handle any more details without offending the muse and sending the divine gift of inspiration directly into the trash with no recover option. I’ve tried that before, and she looks at me like I’m mad or a deranged child. So I must keep cool and smile, with my ever-shrinking presence of mind, as I cradle the treasures of my idea until I can clear my plate, spring away, and get typing. The alternative is hellish: be a madman, divorced and alone, and hope at least the muse sticks around, or kiss my creativity goodbye and just be a normal, boring family man, without muses, without poems and books and burning inspiration. No, so I must juggle instead.
Here is what I recovered from today’s lunch, for example: Open the long term Amos files, create a book of local lore and fairy tales that can be explored, create a bardlike character that would travel around assembling these old oral tales, somewhere between Hans Christian Anderson or the Brothers Grimm, and a real monster hunter, a witcher. Make him enigmatic and interesting, and the book itself something cloaked in mystery, magic, and excitement. Come up with a name for the book. Open the working 3rd draft of Amos the Amazing book 1, find a way to tie the title in, perhaps quickly mention Amos stopping as his fingers dancing over the titles of the Abbey’s legendary old tomes, as something that catches his interest but he will return to later, the fans will enjoy having so many threads originating from the first tale, to play upon later. Make the bard the younger incarnation of the character XXXXXX (redacted: no spoilers), and then later you’ll be able to weave a book or maybe even a trilogy off his in-world adventures if you find the time and interest. Also, you should open the spreadsheets and maps and plot as many possible of these threads before you publish the first book. Learn from the errors of the HP series that internal consistency is one thing, but world-building and series-long ultimate consistency is important and will reward the super fans.
We had an outbreak in Xian. But it wasn’t as bad as it could have been — although if you read the western headlines, it was a lot worse. I often wonder if they really just miss the point of pandemic prevention, or they just like to make China look bad and sensationalize everything. Either way, it’s poor journalism and irresponsible.
So the story goes that lax regulations at a Xian COVID hotel caused a city-wide outbreak. China’s response was to put the 13 million-person city on lockdown as cases rose to more than 50 a day because we understand the power of exponential function and paid attention in science class. A week or so later, there were some rumors of food shortages, but the government assured the people it would supply necessary goods and asked people to stock up for the coming holiday. Cases peaked at 150 for a week in a row, made it 175, and then the effects of the lockdown began to work their magic, bringing cases down to below 100, with cases between 30–60 for the last couple of days. Hopefully, it will be stamped out and over soon.
These days, it just makes sense to have a month or two of dry goods on hand. Two years later, we still do. Water too. Supply chains in China have stayed rock steady, but it’s good for peace of mind to be a little bit independent. Xian’s lockdown has made cases peak at a daily high of 175, now down to below 150 for the first time in 7 days. It looks like the lockdown is choking off infection chains, and we will get a handle on it.
International news totally missed the point when they say “chaos in China” Reality: 150 cases a day in a city is alarming because we understand the exponential function. The fact my family is worried about me in a 34 million people city with 0 cases because 1000 KM away, there’s a city in lockdown over 150 cases a day while their province gets 20,000 new cases a day shows the power of media sensationalism and missing the point entirely. America is declaring a million new cases a day, business as usual, but cries headlines of ‘China in Chaos’ when we lock a city down at 150 cases a day to get ahold of the outbreak. It’s wildly irresponsible. But hey, that’s nothing new, is it?
“America is declaring a million new cases a day, business as usual, but cries headlines of ‘China in Chaos’ when we lock a city down at 150 cases a day to get ahold of the outbreak. It’s wildly irresponsible. But hey, that’s nothing new, is it?”
As we hoped, as I cautiously mused about last month, Omicron is pushing out the Delta variant. As we predicted from early data, Omicron is mild for the vaxxed but possibly deadly for the unvaxxed (including kids!) and a hospital clogger. Studies show it’s only 11% less deadly than Delta in unvaccinated people and much more contagious. Some experts have said the Rvalue is approximately 10- more than measles, practically double Delta, and 4X the original wild type at 2.4.
Things are bad in Canada, especially in Ontario and Quebec, where many Drs. in Quebec are forced to work in sick wards — sick! It’s that bad, my dad says. Well, if there are no doctors in hospitals, that’s worse, so perhaps it’s what has to be done. But the disease is changing — moving out of the lungs into the sinuses. Omicron symptoms are runny nose, sneezing, and a sore throat, and often people get better in 2–3 days if vaccinated and healthy. G eat news for everyone but big pharma who is still hoping to sell billions worth of covid medications.
New Year came and went quietly — we had invites to work parties and friends gatherings but stayed home. Xiaolin had been to her Aunt’s wake, and we were happy to relax and take it easy. I’ve been calm and collected over the holidays — Baileys in the milk helps to reduce stress and keep a smile on my face.
A bit of a deep thought, in the face of the Matrix’s resurgence, comes from Jim Carey after his role as Andy Kaufman, when he experienced no-self/emptiness: “I realized that I could lose myself in a character. I could live in a character. I was a choice. A d when I finished with that, I took a month to remember who I was.” What do I believe? W at are my politics? W at do I like and dislike” It took me a while, and I was depressed going back into my concerns and my politics? But there was a shift that had already happened. And the shift was,” Wait a second. I can put Jim Carrey aside for four months; who is Jim Carrey? W o the hell is that… I know now he does not really exist. He’s ideas. … Jim Carrey was an idea my parents gave me. I ish-Scottish-French was an idea I was given. Canadian was an idea that I was given. I had a hockey team and a religion and all of these things that cobble together into this kind of Frankenstein monster, this representation. It’s like an avatar. These are all the things I am. You are not an actor or a lawyer. No one is a lawyer. There are lawyers, law is practiced, but no one is a lawyer. There is no one, in fact, there.” — Jim Carrey. I like to think about these things on cold winter days, as I wonder where my life is going, and I try to tick off the boxes on my daily, weekly, and monthly goals.
“…Not getting COVID in January is the new squid games. Experts say most of the world will get it and get over it by Valentine’s Day. Some new models predict that by March or April most of the exponential spread will be in deep decline and this might be the last pandemic winter. Hang on, my friends, hang on.”
I’ve heard it said that not getting COVID in January is the new squid games. Experts say most of the world will get it and get over it by Valentine’s Day. Some new models predict that by March or April most of the exponential spread will be in deep decline and this might be the last pandemic winter. Hang on, my friends, hang on.
I got a call and got interviewed by the Beijing Review on my thoughts of the 5I diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing. Xiaolin told me — this is sensitive for both Canada and China, so speak carefully, and I tried to take her advice to heart, but I spoke the truth and gave them my opinion. I think a healthier, more positive thing for Canada to say would have been, “In respect for the Beijing Olympics we are only sending a small delegation of athletes and support staff for pandemic prevention purposes and the safety of our global athletes,” that would have been a lot classier than trying to play into an American — largely unsubstantiated — smear campaign. A funny comment I heard was that when Canadian politicians expressed concern for the safety of Canadian athletes going to Beijing to compete when in reality, I think Beijing might be the safest place they’ll be all year. They should be more concerned about them not wanting to come back.
“Canadian politicians expressed concern for the safety of Canadian athletes going to Beijing to compete when in reality, I think Beijing might be the safest place they’ll be all year. They should be more concerned about them not wanting to come back.”
After years of leaks and bumps, we got a new fridge, a gift from the school. It’ gorgeous and everything a new fridge should be, full of magnets from all over the world and a reminder of what’s waiting after the pandemic. I’ve heard it said, as we cautiously hope, that Omicron, being so contagious and relatively mild, maybe the last significant variant of concern and beat out anything that comes after* caveat about France pending* and that by 2023 we’ll be cleaning up the mess and back to travel and adventure soon. I really hope so.
Soon we’ll have the Year of the Water Tiger to look forward to. What will it take for our Star Trek future? It may sound like a longshot, but I’m betting on the fall of capitalism and the polyphonic rise of the world bodies under a Chinese 5G and belt and road banner of equanimity — but understand if that sounds idealistic or far-fetched to those locked in the throat of a wild and beleaguered late-stage capitalism.
Netflix’s biggest movie ever, Leo and Jenn’s Don’t Look Up, is making people talk about how capitalism corrupts science and our best efforts to handle a crisis: the media, which for most of the movie was the butt of many of the jokes don’t seem to like being the butt of the jokes, but overall it’s a pretty good conversation to be having.
Time for my booster shot! I’m excited to get it out of the way and get my immunity up.
Marjorie Taylor Greene, the new face of American ignorance, has her Twitter account banned for good over COVID misinformation, joining the ranks of Trump as liars who promise to create new social media platforms where they can spread propaganda dangerously, but as it turns out, ingenuity requires creativity and intelligence.
I’m watching Cobra Kai and loved the hockey episode and the idea of ‘Myagi-Do: no be there,’ similar to Bruce Lee’s ‘the art of fighting without fighting,’ perhaps in a world where I can’t make jokes online, I’ll just write books and blogs and enjoy my life.
Little PSA: Children and babies are at high risk of Covid before getting vaccinated. If you’re pregnant, make sure you’re vaccinated, so your baby gets your immunity! It ould save your family’s life!
‘Every houseguest brings you happiness-some when they arrive, and some when they are leaving,’ — Confucius. As I read about a prosecutor who opposed COVID-19 mandates who died after contracting COVID (Orange County, California), I think it’s sad, but also, that’s Karma.
Please get your Vitamin D intake this winter and keep wearing masks. Get your vaccines. Try to stay in shape and eat and sleep well. It’s still vital to your good health.
Here’s my caveat — I would be remiss not to mention that France detects new COVID-19 variant’’IH”, more infectious than Omicron. The discovery of the variant, dubbed B.1.640.2, was announced in a paper posted on medRxiv. Res archers say that it contains 46 mutations — even more than Omicron — making it more resistant to vaccines and infectious. Twelve cases have been spotted so far near Marseille — a place Xiaolin, and I hold close to our heart — with the first linked to travel to the African country Cameroon. Tests show the strain carries the N501Y mutation — first seen on the Alpha variant — that experts believe can make it more transmissible. According to the scientists, it also carries the E484K mutation, which could mean that the IHU variant will be more resistant to vaccines. It s yet to be spotted in other countries or labeled a variant under investigation by the World Health Organization. Experts say don’t worry.
The South African government said Thursday that data from its health department suggested that the country had passed its Omicron peak without a major spike in deaths, offering cautious hope to other countries grappling with the variant.”
“Clinging to borrowed goods is a recipe for pain,” — Epictetus.
A lot of the grief we face is a reluctance to face change and adapt: perhaps the strength to endure comes not from without; but from within. “Clinging to borrowed goods is a recipe for pain,” — Epictetus, stoic. The best way to have your best 2022 life is to be in control of your mind, your desires, and your perceptions. Stoic philosophy is a way to take back control of your life, purpose, and happiness.
Be Like Water, says Bruce Lee. How can we? We ask.
The water in your body is just visiting. It was a thunderstorm a week ago. It will be the ocean soon enough. Most of your cells come and go like morning dew. We’re more weather pattern than stone monument. Sunlight on mist. Summer lightning. Your choices outweigh your substance.
Lab-grown chicken nuggets make cruelty-free meat possible: Grown from animal cells, the nuggets taste like chicken because they are made from real chicken — a fantastic new idea. Facebook sent me a notification to tell me that clueless AI operators flagged this news as spam: Brought to you advertisers that sell live animals and would lose billions if this technology caught on.
CNN reports: People who are overweight or obese are at a much higher risk of more severe disease and even death from COVID-19, and one new study suggests that losing weight can reduce that risk. Um. .well, we know two years ago that having a BMI of over 30% body fat was a huge comorbidity- along with smoking — that would lead to serious covid and death. It’s great that after millions of deaths around the globe, the PC police around CNN informed them to make what I’ve been saying since the beginning…. a suggestion that healthy bodies and healthy lifestyles can help to fight the pandemic and keep you breathing. I don’t know why my advice, just things I’ve seen and read and heard on the ground in China, have been basically ignored and denied by the smartest people in the west for months and years, only to be finally recognized as accurate after millions have died. If I had to guess, I would say that the west suffers from hubris, that they don’t like bowing to the experience of Asians and Africans, and the middle class isn’t used to real catastrophes that can’t be solved by just shoving working-class people under the bus. Somethings are actually emergencies, Karen. The age of your convenience might be ending, and the age of wake-up-and-save-the-planet is upon us.
Before I go, a poem.
You start dying slowly ;
if you do not travel,
if you do not read,
If you do not listen to the sounds of life,
If you do not appreciate yourself.
You start dying slowly :
When you kill your self-esteem,
When you do not let others help you.
You start dying slowly ;
If you become a slave of your habits,
Walking every day on the same paths…
If you do not change your routine,
If you do not wear different colors
Or you do not speak to that you don’t know.
You start dying slowly :
If you avoid to feel passion
And their turbulent emotions;
Those which make your eyes glisten
And your heartbeat fast.
You start dying slowly :
If you do not risk what is safe for the uncertain
If you do not go after a dream
If you do not allow yourself
At least once in your lifetime
To run away from sensible advice, don’t let yourself die slowly
Do not forget to be happy!
~ Pablo Neruda♡
(A Chilean poet who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971)
Happy New Year, more to come.
Kai
