Moloch in the ICU

 

Thanks to those who have politicized vaccines and masks, maybe Moloch worship is not gone from our world.

“Why is there a Moloch-worshipper in the ICU?”

That may sound sinister and odd, but then again, I’ve been described as a “crack-smoking, demon-possessed, leftist,” so maybe it’s just my kind of question. But I’m in good company, for to be similarly described you need only have faith in masks, vaccines, and science. So if you have that, and some shred of human decency, I fear you too might be asking yourself a similarly disturbing hypothetical question. For those working in healthcare the question is not really a hypothetical anymore.

 

Does it not seem like a drum-beat, drowning out the suffering of the vulnerable with the timbrels of anti-mask protest and the whine of contrived grievance?

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“Cream cheese & butter, please.” I asked hopefully, when to my horror they said, “outta cream cheese, it’ll have to be Cheese Whiz, buddy.”

Then they asked “… with batter?”

“No, BUTTER,” I clarified — and that’s the story of the ghee whiz bagel.

 

Trump, Beirut, and Hiroshima

Today is August 6th, 2020. Two days ago, Beirut experienced a horrific explosion. At the time, some people thought it was a nuclear blast because of the shape of the cloud of dust debris and vapor that formed. It was thankfully not a nuclear blast, but its size and devastation was still shocking and a devastating blow to a country suffering through enough hardships already. But this memorable day not only brought out some of the best in people, but sadly, it brought us one particularly notable example of the worst in us.

 

“…please consider helping by contributing to one of these charities.”

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A Silent Wind

The Nourishing Power of Grand Maternal Music

I was told that scientists believe our dietary requirements can be enhanced by music. I could not believe it at first, but I now know it to be unbelievable yet true. I know, this seems to make no sense, and I was very skeptical when I first heard it. I mean, seriously, how could listening to music be a substitute for material sustenance? How could the hearing of sounds, mere vibrations of ear drums, feed our cells? It seemed preposterous.

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Histories, Quacks, and Thieves

The Quacks in Trump’s Armory

 

I guess it’s nothing new for Papa to be doing whatever he could, preaching some gospel, and even selling a few bottles of Dr. Good.

I find myself thinking about the chorus lines from Cher’s “Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves.” Especially as I see reports of preachers, associated with President Trump, seeking to profit from the pandemic.

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Bellerophon and the Hound of Dax

An Epic of an Emotional Support Animal

I recently read some articles positing a controversy surrounding emotional support animals on flights. One mentioned some examples of unusual support animals, while a New York Times piece described how states were “cracking down” on people taking them “everywhere.” And so I had them on my mind as I boarded my flight the other day, and saw a sequence of events that left me wondering if, between those who favored and those who opposed these animals on flights, there wasn’t a third position.

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Art & Mite

Common Household Items Can Doom Nascent Civilizations

The dust mites were tired of their seemingly aimless existence, and so they decided to do something about it. They formed an art collective, and a literary circle to express, explore, and share their creative impulses. This led to a dust mite renaissance, and the increased creativity and contemplation among the mites, coupled with their new found hunger for the written word, led to their rapid progress on the scientific front too. It was their embrace of art that set the mites on the first steps of a road to establishing a truly “mitey” civilization. Continue reading “Art & Mite”