#and I was allowed to read medical literature from age 7

[burninglights]

Industrial Revolution & Pharmacopoeia Boom Time! Many thanks for enabling me, and putting up with my ramblings about nonsense areas of specialty.

NB: I am a biomedical science undergrad, not a medical historian. I've been reading books and academic texts from a young age and consequently retained a worrying amount of weirdly niche medico-historical knowledge. My particular areas of knowledge are the history of cancer therapeutics and the history of pharmacology (and battlefield medicine in Renaissance Europe, but that's beside the point). I'll link reputable sources in case you want to do some Actual Academic Reading of your own; please double check dates if you're planning to reference this post, especially for the government reforms.

First, some context. Medicine in the 1800s was dragged kicking and screaming into the predecessor of modern medicine, mostly by necessity. The development of the steam engine meant the rapid growth of industry thanks to automation that allowed for a much higher product output, and the railways that transported the workers to man said machines into centres of industry and cities.

Unfortunately, with mass movement of people comes disease, especially when the infrastructure for public housing and sanitation just doesn't exist.

With a few exceptions, most notably the philanthropic worker's housing programmes of Rowntree, Robinson, and Cadbury (yes, those ones), most factory workers not only worked incredibly dangerous and gruelling jobs but lived in crowded tenement buildings. These were ideal conditions for the spread of communicable diseases like TB, dysentery, cholera and typhus, all of which ran rife at one point or another.

The thing about communicable disease is that it's a universal affliction, and with the wealthy also susceptible to TB & cholera and the general unpleasantness of dumping all of your sewage directly into the Thames - something that lead to the Great Stink of 1854 - it was time for the government to begrudgingly wave goodbye to the policy of laissez-faire and actually start affecting sociopolitical change.

Cities forced preventative measures - the 1832 inquiry into the Poor Laws, the 1834 New Poor Laws, the Public Health Act of 1848, and the bigger, better 1875 Public Health Act - and leaps and bounds in the medical sciences (the birth of public epidemiology with John Snow and the 1854 cholera outbreak and Pasteur's confirmation of bacteria as the cause of disease in 1850 with germ theory) provided the first steps towards significant combative measures.

The boring bit is over! You came here for the drugs, and the drugs you shall get (metaphorically, of course).

Major leaps and bounds were being made in the chemical sciences too, especially when it came to isolating the active compounds of drugs and understanding how drugs affect people (mostly by medical professionals and the scientifically curious doing So Many Substances in doses and combinations that by all rights should have killed them, but the point stands).

Morphine was isolated in 1803, heroin trotting along not too far behind, and the invention of the hypodermic needle in 1840 made administering opiate drugs a damn sight more convenient. James Simpson proved that chloroform and ether were effective anaesthetic agents in humans in 1840.

(It is at this point I must shout out my boys James Lister, the pioneer of aseptic surgery and Ignaz Semmelweiss, who pioneered handwashing to combat childbed fever in Hungary and who was absolutely done dirty by his peers.

Their work is not strictly relevant to the pharmacopoeia boom, but they're the reason we have surgery that won't kill you dead of sepsis. Their work was, and is, incredibly vital to medicine.)

The reason you see all of those Jesus Christ That's Literally Just Potion of Insta-Death bottles of Victorian medicine is because fairly often, pharmacists with access to these isolated active agents would combine them with other drugs known to be effective in treating certain symptoms and patent them as cover-all medicines.

The medicalisation of addiction, understanding of addiction pathways and understanding of multi-drug intoxication didn't come along until later.

Sadly, overdose, especially in the case of children, wasn't all that uncommon.

You'll notice I said that treatment was primarily of symptoms, not of diseases.

Germ theory was still in its infancy at this point, and without the knowledge that specific microbes means specific disease, meaning specific treatments, the pharmacological M.O. was 'throw everything you've got at it and hope Something works'.

The Colonial Dick Measuring Contest that constituted Europe from around 1850 through to the beginning of World War One was a period known as the second Industrial Revolution, and also when synthetic chemistry, the idea that specific microorganisms = specific disease and the use of synthetic chemistry in pharmacology really kicked off in earnest.

The Bayer company of Germany became a pharmacological powerhouse, much to the disdain of the French (because their nations had beef, Pasteur & Erhlich spent their later years embroiled in a scientific pissing contest, which is incredibly funny but mostly irrelevant to this aside from the development of my favourite historical drug Salvarsan 606) and the British.

Side note: the Bayer company also refined methamphetamine drugs in the Weimar period in Germany, leading to the development of Previtin — the drug from that Finnish soldier post — that was given to the troops of the Third Reich. Norman Ohler's Blitzed is a really interesting account of drug development in Germany with the context of the world wars, if that's of any interest to you.

Anyway!

While the military arms race to build as many Dreadnought class warships as possible so that you'd have a bigger metaphorical dick than your neighbour loomed ominously in the sociopolitical background, a different, smaller kind of arms race was going on; the war against illness (with a side helping of German and French nationalism). A better understanding of medical chemistry meant that new pharmacological ground was being broken regularly; paracetamol was first made in 1877, Felix Hoffman, who worked for the Bayer company, modified salicylic acid to create acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin to you & me) in 1897.

The development of specific microbiological/vital staining techniques like Gram staining (yay!), trypsin blue stain (yay!) and Ziehl–Neelsen staining (absolutely yay - it was used to identify Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacteria responsible for TB) solidified the idea that specific pathogens = specific illness, which was incredibly helpful for drug development.

Arsphenamine, also known as Salvarsan 606 (my beloved!!!! this drug was the first synthetic chemotherapeutic agent and it's so fucking cool) was introduced at the beginning of the 1910s as the first effective treatment for syphilis. This ushered in the age of the sulfonamide antimicrobial drugs to treat infectious disease.

All of these new wonder drugs would be put to use - when available, which all too often they weren't - for casualties of war in 1914, when the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand ushered in a global conflict on a scale nobody could have imagined; the Great War, or WWI.

So yeah! that's a (not so) brief run down of the Big Drug Boom of the Industrial Revolution.

Thanks for tolerating me and I'm sorry for obliterating your dash. Double thanks and all of my love to @ronniebox, @hellolovelyscientist, @tsuyu-season, @yarnings, @starsong-dragonheart and @swords-n-spindles for being magnificently patient and enthusiastic and putting up with my nonsense.

#the history of medicine #medical science #medical history #world history #history of pharmacology #pharmacology #science #again I reiterate: please check dates & cross reference especially for the parliamentary acts #I'm a hobbyist not a professional #I'm just intensely weird lads medical history has been a lifelong interest of mine #and I was allowed to read medical literature from age 7 #in retrospect it should have been apparent a lot sooner to a lot more people that all was not neurotypical with me #long post #em.txt #adventures in biomed #now edited for grammar and spelling

[lo-lynx]

Lost manhood: analysing the eunuch’s masculinity in A Song of Ice and Fire

Note: This is a partly rewritten paper that I wrote for a university course. I’m quite happy with it to be honest, and I thought more ASOIAF fans might enjoy it. I’ve attempted to make the language slightly more accessible and removed some of the parts of the explanations of the story because I here assume that people have read the novels. I’ve previously written a similar analysis about eunuchs in ASOIAF, but this one goes much deeper. So, hang on, this is quite a long one (puns not intended).

 “No one loves a eunuch.” (Martin 2011a, 609). So states Varys the eunuch, in A Game of Thrones. The five (as of yet published) books in the A Song of Ice and Fire series tell a story of war, love, and power and are set in a mostly medieval world. A medieval world which also happens to contain dragons and magic. But as Shiloh Carroll writes in her analysis of medievalism in the novels: “(...) A Song of Ice and Fire examines contemporary concerns or anxieties while placing them in a far-distant past, allowing the reader to consider them at a distance.” (Carroll 2018, 7). This can, for instance, be seen in how George RR Martin has said that he believes that most people of the Middle Ages were not very different from people of today when it comes to love, sex, and sexuality (ibid, 83). While scholars and students of gender and sexuality would most likely disagree (see my previous text, or just later in this one), Martin’s statement seems in line with the idea of looking at contemporary concerns through another lens. Based on the novels, it is also clear that Martin has been influenced by several different historical and cultural contexts, from Celtic history to Mediterranean Mythology and beyond (ibid 109). Fans of the books have also compiled several more of Martin’s stated historical influences from Scottish history, to Alexander the Great, the Mongols, and the Vietnam war (glass_table_girl 2014).With this amalgamation of different historical perspectives, it is interesting to look at how one aspect of the power dynamics in this series is portrayed: namely gender power dynamics, and more specifically masculinity.

 The world of A Song of Ice and Fire is a deeply patriarchal one, with most of the people in power being men (Carroll 2018, 56). But throughout the series, it is also clear that not all men in this world are equal, just as in our own. In this paper, I want to analyze how one of the men who are not as highly regarded in the series is portrayed, namely the eunuchVarys, mentioned above. (It should be noted that in this context, eunuch seems to mean someone who has had both their penis and testicles removed. On one occasion Varys mentions being cut “root and stem” (Martin 2011b, 584).) Varys holds the position of Master of Whispers in the Seven Kingdoms, a position that entails keeping a network of spies through the kingdom and beyond (Martin 2011a, 166). Because of this web of informants, he is also often called the Spider. The Seven Kingdoms encompasses the continent of Westeros and might be said to be a parallel to the United Kingdom of our world, or Europe generally (Carroll 2018, 109). Varys, however, comes from the city-state of Lys in the continent Essos. Essos seems to be inspired by different parts of Asia, and the Westerosi perspective on it is similar to the European perception of “the Orient” (Carroll 2018, 109). As both a foreigner, a eunuch, and a Master of Spies Varys is mistrusted by most characters in the novels (for example: Martin 2011a, 246).  By a close reading of three different scenes where Varys is present, I want to analyze how his gender is perceived by other characters and what that can tell us about how masculinity is constructed in the world of A Song of Ice and Fire.

 In analyzing Varys, I will use several theoretical perspectives that I will present here. Firstly, I will look at how eunuchs have been viewed in our world historically. Konstantinos P. Nikoloutsos writes that Greek writers of the classical period often viewed eunuchs with contempt (2008, 232). Oftentimes eunuchs were associated with Eastern cultures, such as Persia. They were generally seen as feminine, submissive, and sexually available yet also sexually passive. That might sound counterintuitive, but what it means is that according to the sexual conventions of the time, a eunuch could participate in intercourse but not be the active part. As Nikoloutus writes of the norms of sexuality during that time:

In fifth- and fourth-century Athenian literature, sex is discussed in connection with the issue of age, class, gender, and power. In our male-authored texts, sexual intercourse is perceived as an act that reflects (or should reflect) the hierarchical structure of society; as such, it involves a penetrator (i.e. an adult male citizen) and a penetrated other who could be a woman, a slave, a metic (i.e. a non-citizen resident), a prostitute, or a kinaidos (i.e. an effeminate man who preferred the passive role in sexual intercourse). According to the moralizing discourses of ancient Athenians, a freeborn man who wished to retain his claim to full masculine status should always seek to play the active/insertive role while having sex with other men. (Nikoloutus 2008, 230)

By being assigned the passive role in sexual intercourse the eunuch is therefore seen as less of a man. The eunuch could also be seen as a liminal figure, neither man nor woman, neither Western nor Eastern. In a way he inhabited a third gender space. By inhabiting this transgressive role, he was also able to move between female and male spaces (Llewellyn-Jones 2002, 37). This could make him useful at court, as he became privy to the intrigue of the private female sphere and could pass on that information to the public male sphere. Other authors have noted how in many societies, while eunuchs were useful figures at court, they were outsiders as well in the sense that they often had a different ethnicity (Tougher 2002, 149). For instance, in the late Roman empire eunuchs were not allowed to be created in the empire, but allowance was made for “importation of castrated barbarians” (ibid, 144). The eunuch is here constructed as something “other” than the own population, the “us” part of the “us vs them” equation. This association with what was consider the ethnic “other” (particularly the Eastern other) with femininity and sexual promiscuity and/or deviance has striking similarities with orientalism. The term orientalism describes how western cultures have traditionally described the people of “the Orient” as emasculated, lesser, savage, barbaric, sexually depraved, etc. (Carroll 2018, 107, 119 & 121). Dehumanization of people who are considered “other” can be seen with other groups of people who transgress societal borders as well, such as trans people. Susan Stryker writes that transsexual people are often seen as monstrous, similar to for instance Frankenstein’s monster (1994). Eva Hayward compares the trans experience with that of the spider, partly because they are both looked upon with both curiosity and distrust (2010). But she also writes that similarly to the spider’s web, transsexuality can be seen as a creating a home of one’s own body. Making a home where one is not intended to exist, but that becomes a home nonetheless.

 In modern time the role of the penis in the construction of masculinity, that can be seen with eunuchs of more ancient times, persists. Anne Fausto-Sterling writes that even though medical professionals are often aware of the fact that it is possible for children to be born with sex characteristics that fall outside of the male/female binary, these so-called intersex children will often be “corrected” by surgery (1995, 130). It should be noted that a lot of activists oppose these types of surgeries (for example: Amnesty 2017). Fausto-Sterling further analyses how in medical literature a so-called normal penis is often considered crucial for boys (1995, 130). When a child is born, if that child’s penis is considered too small the penis will often be turned into a clitoris, and a vagina will be created. The child will then be raised as girl. The existence of a phallus that is large enough is seen as crucial for boyhood and manhood:

All this surgical activity goes on to ensure a congruous and certain sex of assignment and sex of rearing. During childhood, the medical literature insists, boys must have a phallus large enough to permit them to pee standing up, thus allowing them to “feel normal” when they play in little boys’ peeing contests. In adulthood, the penis must become large enough for vaginal penetration during intercourse. (...) At birth then, masculinity becomes a social phenomenon. For proper masculine socialization to occur, the little boy must have a sufficiently large penis. (Fausto-Sterling 1995, 131)

Here again, the existence of a penis is connected not only to masculinity but also sexuality. Having penetrative sex (and being the one penetrating) is linked to proper manhood. Similarly, Karioros and Allan write that the testicles are often linked to masculinity (for example by phrases like “grow a pair”), but also virility (2017).  They also write that because of this, castration is often linked with a fear of losing one's masculinity. Here we can see a connection between masculinity, sexuality, and fatherhood as well. Other authors have also noted this link, for instance in regards to how the inability to father children might feel like a threat to one’s masculinity (Thorsby & Gill 2004).

 The theme of sexuality and masculinity is one that Stephen Whitehead also writes about when he analyses masculine embodiment (2002). Whitehead writes that is that what is considered to male not just determined by biology but is also dependent on the discourse around sex/gender (ibid, 186). What he means by that is that how a “male body” should look and behave is not just innate, it depends on how expectations from society. Furthermore, the way that the masculine subject experiences their own body depends on what is generally expected of the male body, mainly for it be strong, tough and in control of physical space (ibid, 189). This can be seen as a contrast of the expected feminine embodiment, which is generally expected to be timid, careful, and restricted. Whitehead further describes how bodies (regardless of gender) are regulated through the panoptic gaze (ibid, 194). He borrows this term from Foucault to describe how we in modern society are constantly under surveillance, to the degree that we subconsciously regulate our own behavior.  Whitehead then goes on to show how this panoptic gaze can be extra harsh on some bodies (such as for people of color), subverted by some (such as gay men), and be different during the lifespan. Regarding aging male bodies he writes that with age many cannot live up to the ideal of having a strong and active body, and many lose sexual confidence at this time as well (ibid, 200). Here we once again see the theme of connecting masculinity to an active sexuality.  

 The analysis of the scenes with Varys from A Song of Ice and Fire will be presented below in a thematic fashion, but for context I will provide a brief overview of them here. The first scene is from the first novel, A Game of Thrones, from the point of view of Catelyn Stark when she arrives in Kings Landing (Martin 2011a, 165-169). There she meets the Master of Coin Petyr Baelish as well as Varys himself. This is the first time Varys appears on page, even though he has been mentioned before. The second scene occurs later in the same book, from the point of view of Hand of the King Eddard “Ned” Stark who has been imprisoned, accused of treason (Martin 2011a, 608-613). Varys shows up in his cell, disguised as a gaoler, and they discuss the future. The third scene is in the next book, A Clash of Kings, where the new Hand of the King Tyrion Lannister and Varys discuss politics and power (Martin 2011b, 117-122). This scene is from Tyrion’s point of view.

 In the first scene where the reader sees Varys he is described thusly:

The man who stepped through the door was plump, perfumed, powered, and as hairless as an egg. He wore a vest of woven gold thread over a loose gown of purple silk, and on his feet were pointed slippers of soft velvet. (...) His flesh was soft and moist, and his breath smelled of lilacs. (Martin 2011a, 167)

In the scene with Tyrion in A Clash with Kings he is described similarly, this time as having flowing lavender colored robes and smelling of lavender (Martin 2011b, 117). In both these occasions his appearance seems somewhat feminine, with flowing robes and flower scents. It is also interesting to note how his mannerisms are described. In the scene from A Game of Thrones it is described how he “giggled like a little girl” (Martin 2011a, 168). Later he handles a knife “with exaggerated delicacy” and when he still cuts himself on it, he lets out a squeal (ibid). In the scene from A Clash with Kings he is described first as “gliding into the hall”, and then he “tittered nervously” when questioned by Tyrion (Martin 2011b, 117). Later he is also described as giggling nervously (ibid, 121). Throughout this scene his reactions and speech generally seem exaggeratedly emotional, almost theatrical. One example is when Tyrion confronts him about not telling him about Tyrion’s sister’s involvement in the killing of the former king Robert’s bastard children:

‘Your own sweet sister,’ Varys said, so grief-stricken that he looked close to tears. ‘It is a hard thing to tell a man, my lord, I was fearful how you might take it. Can you forgive me?’ (Martin 2011b, 117)

His mannerisms throughout these two scenes seem careful, delicate, and emotional. This is somewhat of a contrast to how he is described in the scene with Eddard Stark from A Game of Thrones. Here some of the same language is present; Varys is described as speaking sadly and sighing (Martin 2011a, 609-610). But Eddard also notes how he seems blunter than usual. His appearance is the most different though, here he has disguised himself:

The eunuch’s plump cheeks were covered with a dark stubble of beard. Ned felt the course hair with his fingers. Varys had transformed himself into a grizzled turnkey, reeking of sweat and sour wine. (Martin 2011a, 609)

Here Eddard sees how Varys has changed himself from his usual plump and feminine self, into an unwashed gruff gaelor. Seeing this disguise might hint that Varys usual appearance, with his theatrics, is a disguise as well. I will return to this notion later.

 From these scenes we can see that Varys usually seems to dress in a slightly feminine manner. His mannerisms seem feminine too, if one considers what Whitehead writes about feminine and masculine embodiment (2002, 189). Feminine embodiment is described there as timid and more restricted, while masculine embodiment is described as tough and in control of physical space. With his nervous tittering, exaggerated delicacy etc., Varys most definitely appears more feminine than masculine. All of this also seems in line with how eunuchs were described being feminine and submissive in antiquity (Nikoloutus 2008). Varys’ clothing is also interesting from this point of view; having a loose silk gown, a golden vest, and pointed slippers he fits in well with the idea of the eunuch from as an “Eastern” figure. This, of course, also makes sense since he comes from the continent of Essos that seems inspired by such real-life cultures. Based on his appearance one can then see how he is both perceived as feminine and “Eastern”, which was how eunuchs were seen in for example ancient Greece. However, it is also worth noting how this is similar to the orientalist view of men from “the Orient” as being emasculated/effeminate (Carroll 2018, 107).

 Another way Varys can be considered to be emasculated is of course in regard to his lack of genitalia. In all of the scenes I am analyzing it is mentioned that he is a eunuch, which makes it seem like this is central in people’s perception of him (Martin 2011a, 166 & 609; Martin 2011b, 120). In the scene with Eddard, Varys says that he swears upon his lost manhood that he is telling the truth (Martin 2011a, 613). This is an interesting turn of phrase since it directly links the removal of his genitalia with masculinity. However, it is in the scene with Tyrion that this issue is discussed most thoroughly. Tyrion says:

‘People have called me halfman too, yet I think the gods have been kinder to me. I am small, my legs are twisted, and women do not look upon me with any great yearning… yet I’m still a man. Shae is not the first to grace my bed, and one day I may take a wife and sire a son. (...) You have no such hope to sustain you. Dwarfs are a jape of the gods… but men make eunuchs.’ (Martin 2011b, 120)

Here Tyrion explicitly links having a penis with being a man. He seems to specifically connect being a man to having sex with women and fathering children. This is in line with what Fausto-Sterling writes about how having a large enough penis is considered crucial for masculine socialization, partly so the man can have penetrative sex with women (1995). It is also similar to the view of Ancient Greece, where being the penetrator in sexual intercourse was very important for one’s masculinity. However, unlike those times it seems that in the world of A Song of Ice and Fire it also important for one’s sexual partner to specifically be a woman, not simply any person below oneself in social standing. One can also note how fatherhood seems important to masculinity, which Thorsby and Gill write about as well (2004). That losing one’s manhood means losing one’s masculinity makes sense in relation to Karioris and Allen’s article, where they write that the testicles is seen as the seat of masculinity (2017). They also note how the testicles are connected to virality. All in all, it seems clear that partly why the penis and testicles are important to masculinity both in the world of A Song of Ice and Fire and our own is because of their perceived necessity for (penetrative) heterosexual sex and fatherhood. For someone to be counted as a real man they apparently have to take part in those practices. This is why Tyrion claims that he is still a man, and that Varys is not. Tyrion’s comparison of himself and Varys is furthermore interesting in other ways. It is clear when Tyrion refers to himself as a “halfman” he believes that his disability is an obstacle to him completely inhabiting a masculine subject position. As Whitehead writes, masculine embodiment is often expected to mean toughness and being in control of physical space. Tyrion describes himself as small and with twisted legs, and one can assume that this makes harder for him to live up to those ideals. However, since he can still have heterosexual sex and father children, he counts himself as a man. This emphasizes how important sexuality and virality is in the construction of masculinity.

 The last theme that I want to touch upon is how Varys seems to be mistrusted and ill liked. In Catelyn’s chapter in A Game of Thrones she reflects on how she does not trust him, and how Varys’ ability to find out information disconcerts her (Martin 2011a, 167-168). In Eddard’s chapter later in the novel Varys points out himself how “no one loves a eunuch” (ibid, 609). However, he then says that “A eunuch has no honor, and a spider does not enjoy the luxury of scruples, my lord.” (ibid 610). This provides somewhat of an insight into his political strategy, while also making it seem wise to mistrust him. In the chapter with Tyrion in A Clash of Kings Varys makes a similar statement: “Spiders and informers are seldom loved, my lord.” (Martin 2011b, 120.) So, as a eunuch and a spy Varys is mistrusted and unloved. That he occupies the role of a spy is interesting in relation to what Llewellyn-Jones writes about the role eunuchs historically could have at court (2002). Those eunuchs could move between the private (feminine) sphere and the public (masculine) sphere, and therefore inform those in powers of courtly intrigue. This seems similar to what Varys does. A reoccurring theme for him, then, seems to be the transgression of borders. From private/feminine to public/masculine spaces, from feminine to masculine embodiment, from East to West. Perhaps, similarly to how eunuchs were regarded with contempt in Ancient Greece because of their transgressive position, this explains part of the reason why Varys is disliked. The fact that he is called “the Spider” also hints to him not quite being considered human. This is similar to how both Stryker and Hayward describe the way trans people are often perceived (1994; 2010). Similarly to how Hayward describes how the spider is looked upon with both curiosity and disgust, this seems to be how Varys the spider is seen. Furthermore, similarly to Hayward’s description Varys seems to create a place for himself through his spider web. However, there are some complications to simply reading him as a trans character. For one, it is very unclear how Varys considers his gender himself, the reader only gets descriptions of him from other characters’ points of view. But while it is unclear how he identifies; the way other characters see him seems similar to attitudes trans people might face. His, in their eyes, unclear gender and sex makes him seem slippery and unlikable. This ties back to the idea of eunuchs being seen with contempt because of their liminal character.

 Perhaps one strategy that Varys uses to counter the disadvantage of his position as a eunuch is to play into it. Earlier I noted that his feminine mannerisms seemed almost theatrical, and if he can disguise himself as a goalor, then perhaps his usual appearance is a disguise as well. As a spymaster he is most likely aware of how one’s every move might be watched, similarly to the panoptic gaze that Whitehead describes. This might have made him realize how important it is to control his own appearance etc. Varys might do something similar to how Whitehead writes that gay men might sometimes subvert the panoptic gaze on male bodies, by not conforming to the expectations of their embodiment (2002, 198). Varys seemingly conforms to the way eunuchs are expected to inhabit their bodies, but the reader cannot be sure if this is his “true” appearance or if he even has one. In this way he might be said to subvert the panoptic gaze by not simply conforming to the role of the effeminate and weak eunuch that his appearance might indicate but use this to his advantage. Furthermore, it seems useful for his position at court to both be able to move between different spaces with different disguises, and to use the idea of a eunuch as effeminate to seem less threatening in a patriarchal society.

 In conclusion then, Varys is considered less of a man because of his lack of “manhood”. In a world where sexuality and virality is intimately connected to masculinity, his perceived lack of those makes him no true man. Furthermore, his appearance and mannerisms seem more feminine than masculine. This, however, might be a strategy of his to seem less threatening in his position of Master of Spies. As he says himself, eunuchs and informants are seldom loved, so it might be beneficial for him to play into the role of the weak effeminate eunuch. Perhaps this also makes him able to move between differently gendered spaces, similarly to the eunuchs of antiquity. However, being the effeminate eunuch also seems part of what makes people distrust him. Him inhabiting the liminal space between borders of gender/sexuality and ethnicity, both spatially and with his embodiment, makes people vary of him. Is he a man or woman? Western or Eastern? Neither? But by destabilizing such borders, he also makes them visible. When the characters deem him less of a man for appearing feminine and lacking the body parts that would make him a man, it becomes clearer what requirements there are to be a man. Those seem to include a certain amount of toughness, active sexuality, and virality. Lacking both the set of genitalia that is deemed necessary to perform those actions and having the gendered perceptions of his ethnicity working against him, Varys cannot be perceived as a true man. But ultimately, this says more about how the society he lives in views masculinity.

 References

Amnesty International. (2017). “First, do no harm: ensuring the rights of children born intersex.” Accessed 1 December, 2019. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2017/05/intersex-rights/

 Carroll, Shiloh. 2018. Medievalism in A Song of Ice and Fire and Game of Thrones. Cambridge: D.S. Brewer

 glass_table_girl. 2014. “(Spoilers All) A List of Things that GRRM Has Cited as Influences or Sources of Enjoyment”. Reddit, August 31, 2014.

https://www.reddit.com/r/asoiaf/comments/2f3wz9/spoilers_all_a_list_of_things_that_grrm_has_cited/

 Fausto-Sterling, Anne. 1995. “How to build a man”, in Constructing Masculinity, eds. Berger, Maurice, Brian Wallis and Simon Watson, 127-134. New York: Routledge.

 Hayward, Eva. 2010. “Spider city sex”, Women & Performance: a journal of feminist theory, 20(3):225-251

 Karioris, Frank G. and Jonathan A. Allan. 2017. “Grow a Pair! Critically Analyzing Masculinity and the Testicles.” Journal of Men’s Studies, 24(3): 245-261.

 Martin, George RR. 2011a. A Game of Thrones. London: Harper Voyager.

 Martin, George RR. 2011b. A Clash of Kings. London: Harper Voyager.

 Nikoloutsos, Konstantinos P. 2008. ”The Alexander Bromance: Male Desire and Gender Fluidity in Oliver Stone’s Historical Epic.” Helios, (35)2: 223-251

 Llewellyn-Jones, Lloyd. 2002. “Eunuchs and the royal harem in Achaemenid Persia (559-331 BC)”, in Eunuchs in antiquity and beyond, ed. Tougher, Shaun, 19-50. Swansea: The Classical Press of Wales.

 Stryker, Susan. 1994. “My words to Victor Frankenstein above the village of Chamounix: Performing transgender rage” GLQ 1(3): 237-254

 Throsby, Karen & Rosalind Gill. 2004. ”It’s Different for Men: Masculinity and IVF.” Men and Masculinities, (6)4: 330-348

Tougher, Shaun. 2002. “In or out? Origins of court eunuchs.” in Eunuchs in antiquity and beyond, ed. Tougher, Shaun, 143-160. Swansea: The Classical Press of Wales.

 Whitehead, Stephen M. 2002. Men and Masculinities, Cambridge and Malden: Polity.

#asoiaf #feminism #cw: sexism #cw: racism

[raniel23]

Entry #2

Secret Garden Analysis

Reading and Writing Analysis

"The Secret Garden"

(Francis Eliza Hodgson Burnett)

Submitted by: Raniel Rubia Pagaduan

Submitted to: Jessie M. Dela Cruz

I. Authors Background

Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett (24 November 1849 – 29 October 1924) was a British-born American novelist and playwright. She is best known for the three children's novels Little Lord Fauntleroy (published in 1885–1886), A Little Princess (1905), and The Secret Garden (1911).

Nationality: English

Citizenship: British (from birth) , United States from 1865.

Frances Eliza Hodgson was born in Cheetham, Manchester, England. After her father died in 1852, the family fell on straitened circumstances and in 1865 emigrated to the United States, settling in New Market, Tennessee.There, Frances began writing to help earn money for the family, publishing stories in magazines from the age of 19. In 1870, her mother died, and in 1872 she married Swan Burnett, who became a medical doctor. The Burnetts lived for two years in Paris, where their two sons were born, before returning to the United States to live in Washington, D.C. Burnett then began to write novels, the first of which (That Lass o' Lowrie's), was published to good reviews. Little Lord Fauntleroy was published in 1886 and made her a popular writer of children's fiction, although her romantic adult novels written in the 1890s were also popular. She wrote and helped to produce stage versions of Little Lord Fauntleroy and A Little Princess.

II. Background of the Work/Literature

The book working title was Mistress Mary, in reference to the English nursery rhyme Mary Mary quite contrary. Parts of it written during the Burnett's visit to Buite Hill Park, Amythan Hall in Kent, England where Burnett's lives for a number of years during her marriage, is often cited as the aspiration for the Books setting. Burnett keep on extensive garden, including an ok impressive rose garden. However, it has been noted that besides the garden, Maythan are physically different.

III. Characters/ Characterization

Mary Lennox- contrary, spoiled brat, changes her ways layer on.

Colin Craven- self indulgent, isolated invalid, works to become healthy.

Martha Sowerby- domestic servant and a pursuit of Mary

Dickon Sowerby- nature lover, friends of animals, empathetic healer

M r. Craven- the heartbroken husband of Mrs. Craven. Absentee father

Mrs. Sowerby- idealistic earth mother.

Ben Weatherstaff- a grief gardener.

IV. CHARACTER WEB

Legend: cousin

Friend

Uncle

V. 10 MAIN EVENTS

1. Mary takes to England to live in her uncle and meet Martha.

2. Her Mother and Father died from cholera/Epedemia.

3. She meets Ben Weatherstaff and Robin, skins of bird.

4. She find the of the hidden garden by the help of the Robin.

5. Meets his unknown cousin Colin.

6. Ben finds Mary, Dickon and Colin in the secret garden.

7. Colin stands up for the first time.

8. Mr. Craven find Mary and Colin inside the garden.

9. Craven and Colin are reconciled.

10. Colin enjoys playing and running outside.

Vl. CONFLICT

The major conflict in each character is between each other.

Vll. POINT OF VIEW

The story of The Secret Garden is told by a third-person, omniscient narrator who is privy to the action that takes place and to the thoughts and feelings of the characters. This is important because the characters are quite varied and diverse. It is helpful for the reader to get a peek into their individual ways of thinking. It becomes especially important as Mary, the main character, begins to undergo changes after arriving at Misselthwaite Manor. In the beginning, she was portrayed as a selfish, arrogant, somewhat hateful child. It is instructive for the reader to share her journey as she initially begins to see herself as others see her and experiences new feelings for the first time. The narrator knows all and is highly subjective that is, she frequently comes or the first person.

Vlll. SYMBOLISM

The Secret Garden is the central symbol of the story, representing revitalization and how even those things that appear lifeless may regain their health with the proper nurturance. Also the roses symbolizes the children. Eggs are symbolism of rebirth.

The Secret Garden

The Secret Garden is an abandoned garden at Misselthwaite Manor that has been locked away since the death of Mrs. Craven 10 years earlier. It is the centerpiece of the novel because it becomes a place of healing for its main characters, Mary and Colin.

Misselthwaite Manor

Misselthwaite Manor is an estate on the moors in Yorkshire, England. It is home to the Craven family and to Mary after her parents die.

Robin Redbreast

Robin Redbreast is a bird that lives in the secret garden. The robin leads Mary to the garden.

Roses

Roses are the most significant plant in the novel because they are a symbol of life and of Colin's late mother.

The Dead Tree

After the garden begins to come to life in the spring, the only dead object left there is a large tree from which Colin's mother fell to her...

IV. THEMES

The Secret Garden Theme of Happiness. The Secret Garden really couldn't be clearer about its moral message if the book were called Happiness = Unselfishness. Basically, the secret to happiness in this book is to think less about yourself and more about the other people (and plants) around you.

X. CULTURAL IMPLICATIONS

The story of secret garden can be associated in the Filipino attitude and concerns. Somehow, we Filipinos can be influenced by the nature we belong. We might be so hard and weak for many things but later we learn how to cope up with it. We always seek for the wellness of ourselves. Another is we Filipinos are opened for changes and acceptance. We bare a good heart to help one another to take the risk of bracing the flaws of someone and allowing them to change thyself.

Xl. STYLE OF THE AUTHOR

The Secret Garden is sort of a coming-of-age story in the genre of children's literature. Frances Burnett of direct words in this passage to every vary the tone and to keep it from becoming to sweet and dense to tolerate. At the same time, the secret gardens passages of description always include multiple objectives to describe similar things, which makes the prose seem both highly decorative and as well flowery.

[baley146]

Linked (I.M pt.1)

Genre: Romcom with bad jokes Pairing: I.M/Changkyun (Hacker/College Student), You (Reluctant hero/College Student) Rating: F for fun Warning: Spin off of Wonho’s Wanted series, but no need to read that before reading this!

Summary: I.M. Part-time college student, secret world-class hacker. Meeting his match was only the beginning, since his rival just happens to be the last person he expected.

pt.1

Changkyun frowns at another line of cryptic symbols flashing across the screen. It’s all thanks to his ‘dick-head’ client Hyungwon, who insists on knowing the medical history of every millionaire in the country that Changkyun’s stuck to his desk instead of his comfy mattress. He’d rather not lament on what sort of wacky doctor Hyungwon is. He’s shady, and that’s all Changkyun cares to fathom at the moment.

Yet, he finds more distraction in the tedious online security system, meticulously guarding every private hospital in this country. But breaking down a few firewalls shouldn’t be a problem. After all, he is I.M, the legendary and terrifying hacker that can easily manipulate just about everything in the online world.

But this time, whoever wrote the protection programs for Seoul’s top three private hospitals successfully gave him chills. In a good way. 

A smile noticeably creeps onto his face. And he’s clearly more than a little excited for a daring challenge to finally show up.

Solving it will take a little longer than usual, and he’d love to indulge right away, except life as a college student doesn’t allow such a luxury. He’s got an unfortunate eight AM test tomorrow. And sleep is the wiser option for now. The fun will have to wait.

You were always pretty decent at turning people down unless it came down to your cousin, Yoo Kihyun. So when he asked you a favor on behalf of the nation’s top government agency, it became even harder to say no.

Those close to you knew about your notable talent in programming, which is something you now wish you didn’t have thanks to the outrageous anti-virus programs you had to write with your two hands. Still, this development is hardly a surprise considering your mother was a former CIA agent and your father still works for NASA.

Having early access to all sorts of cool gadgets somehow induced your transformation into what Kihyun calls a ‘benevolent hacker’. And it’s as stressful as it sounds, like what’s going on right now.

“But you’ve even saved our country from a nuclear war!” Kihyun’s voice rang proudly.

You sigh through the phone before slumping further into your chair. “I almost went blind from staring at a screen for so long, but I guess it all worked out.”

“We really appreciate everything you do, really.” He softens. “I know it’s tough, but hey, at least you’re getting paid.”

“I just want to live a normal life.”

“I know, I know.” Kihyun coos sympathetically. “This should be the last time. But…”

“But?” You could feel the hesitation through his silence.

“We’re looking at a pretty high-profiled hacker this time. And if they’re targeting private hospitals, they’re out for some pretty bad damage.”

Kihyun’s words linger with a tinge of frustration, and that struck you to realize the much shittier stress your poor cousin deals on a daily basis. The least you can do is comfort him a little.

“Well, the program I wrote for the hospital’s database should stay intact through tonight.” You suggest with a bit of optimism.

“That’s good to hear.” He sighs.

You switch on your laptop, nestling the phone against your shoulder. “By the way, any idea on the perpetrator yet?”

“Nothing solid.” He states. “But we do have someone on file who could be a possible suspect.”

That piqued your interest a little, and you wait for him to continue.

“You familiar with the hacker that goes by the name I.M?”

Your back stiffens, and the phone on your shoulder almost slips to the floor. Kihyun probably noticed your sudden silence, but you still had to let a few shivers run down your spine.

I.M. That name is more or less a legend to your ears. You knew that name. Well, anyone with the slightest interest in programming knows that name. Although your knowledge of him came from passing rumors, the stories are crazy enough to serve as a warning. Multiple cases of leaked government secrets are credited to his name. And just three years ago, I.M’s stints nearly drove a dozen smaller European countries into martial law.

No one knows how or why he operates, nor is there evidence of his identity. He’s like some lurking enigma from the deep, dark web, capable of sending the whole world on edge with a few clicks.

But to the average citizen, his existence is a debatable rumor. Only those with enough expertise of computers know the true extent of his destruction.

Fortunately for you, no trouble has stumped you yet. But if the opponent this time happens to be I.M, there may be just one conclusion: If encountered, do not approach.

“So…is that a yes?” Your cousin’s voice sounded hopeful.

“Um not really, I’m gonna Google him.” You swallow your lie, swiftly deciding against saying much for the sake of Kihyun’s sanity.

“Alright then, don’t stay up too late.” There’s a brief silence before Kihyun’s voice cools. “Thanks for the help so far, kiddo. Now get some sleep.”

Your eyes roll at his usual motherly tone. But he’s right; you need your sleep for tomorrow’s eight AM Philosophy test.

“Okay, night mom.” You sang, hanging up before Kihyun could reply.

Changkyun doesn’t regret taking Philosophy. It’s an easy A and all, but an eight o’clock midterm is kind of pushing it.

His phone buzzes against the night stand’s surface. Changkyun grabs it to shut off the alarm, but the screen displays a text message instead. A grin instantly finds his lips as evidence of sleepiness completely disappear from his features.

[Squishy Dumpling 7:00 AM]: “CHANGKYUN WAKE UP RIGHT NOW! IF YOU DON’T ANSWER IN 1 MIN I WILL CALL.”

Changkyun chuckles under his breath and pushes himself up against the headboard. What started as an inside joke lead to a stupidly endearing contact name. If only you knew about it; that would surely have your eyes rolling.

Seeing your promised text message already has him in a better mood. Yet despite being wide awake, he purposely waits to see if you’re really going to take this wake-up-call job seriously. Changkyun is nonetheless grateful for your proposed offer during last evening’s impromptu study session. After him claiming to have slept through several tests in the past, you were determined to stop him from sleeping through another one.

Indeed, one minute later, his phone starts buzzing continuously with your silly trademark flashing on screen.

He clears his throat, channeling his best dead-tired-college-student impression and takes the call.

“Hmm…hello?”

Changkyun’s voice is already deeper than most guys his age, but his range falls impossibly lower in the mornings. It’s amazing how that husky voice never fails to give you the jitters.

“Changkyun, stop it.” You sigh firmly. “I know you’re awake.”

“Hm? What makes you say that?” He drags on.

Your ear drowns in the vibrations of his voice. “I know you read my text.”

Changkyun lets out a groan that forces you to physically pry the phone away from yourself. “Five more minutes.”

“Changkyun, I’m not your mother.”

He lets out a convincing sigh. “You know, I was thinking, since I already have a ninety-eight in the class, I should just-”

“Changkyun!”

The boy almost blew his cover by chuckling out loud. “Kidding, relax.” He yawns. “I’ll go since you sound like you really want me to.”

You can practically see Changkyun with his proud smirk waiting for a flustered response.

“Obviously.” You return the distress. “Who else can I copy off the answers to?”

“Ouch.” Changkyun hissed. “Ice cold.”

“You’re old enough to handle it.”

Changkyun didn’t hold back his chuckles this time. He always knew one day he’ll meet someone sassier than him. Sure enough, here you are, serving that hot attitude right up at seven in the morning.

“What are you doing after the test?” He redirects the topic.

“Um…probably be at the library to finish some homework.” That’s a partial lie, since your real motive is checking on the condition of your program. If I.M really is the culprit according to Kihyun’s data, you sure need a recheck as soon as goddamn possible. And you’ll need the library’s generous wi-fi speed for that.

“Oh me too, wanna go together?” Changkyun’s voice interrupts your thought. You quickly swallow your hesitation, a bit unsure about fighting hackers with another person sitting by. But Changkyun’s harmless, as far as you know. “Sounds Good.”

Within an hour, you’re patiently waiting for the professor’s arrival in a mostly empty lecture hall. Just as you decide to glance around for Changkyun, a coffee cup suddenly lands on your desk.

“Morning sunshine.”

You turn your head away from the coffee to see Changkyun plop down in the seat next to yours. Seeing him this early had you wide-eyed for a good moment.

“Morning.” Your gaze returns to the cup before you. “I see you had time to get coffee.”

Changkyun shrugs. “I figured you’ll probably need some energy to, you know, copy my answers.”

You’re almost pleased with his comeback. “You know me so well, thanks Changkyun.”

He smiles back, taking out a few pens as the professor finally makes his entrance.

Despite the test being a generous three hours, you and Changkyun were out in less than one. As previously agreed, the two of you are now sitting across each other at your favorite spot in the library--second floor, back corner near the ancient Greek literature. You naturally favored this spot since it’s usually vacant, but most importantly, it’s where the wi-fi router is located.

Finding a spot like this was indisputably your primary task on your first day at college. You needed a distraction-free work space, not so much for your school work but for fighting what ever cyber crime Kihyun might task you with. Luckily, you found this holed-up library, ironically attached to the computer science department, and barely visible from the outside world.

You quickly grew attached to the place, to the point where you now work as a library assistant to gain unlimited entry into the facility. The only thing didn’t expect was to meet Changkyun, who, unbeknownst to you, chose to work here for the reasons that would never cross your mind in several life times.

It’s hard to put your finger on exactly what drew you towards this boy. Changkyun’s an odd ball. You knew that from his persistent suggestion to build a fort using the old, un-catalogued books from the back storage room. But you also knew he isn’t a complete scatterbrain when he translated an entire collection of Arabic poems into English, all on his own.

Which is why you sometimes question why he’s a biology major.

But you are no less of a mystery in Changkyun’s eyes, albeit a much prettier mystery. He initially pegged on the idea of having the entire library to himself and was clearly a little upset when he first heard a new co-worker is joining the staff. But when you came along, his mind changed instantly.

He couldn’t pinpoint the source of your attraction either. It could be your pretty eyes, but it could also be your natural sass which stumped him a few times. And there was that fascinating episode where you, a statistics major, somehow knew weirdly specific details about upgrading the library router’s firmware. And that made the wi-fi so much faster.

Curiosity aside, Changkyun got used to you so quickly that he doesn’t even mind hacking the government with you beside him.

“Can’t believe I got up this early for two free response questions.” Changkyun laments, his chin sinking into his palm.

You kind of agree. That philosophy test was stupidly easy, it’s almost a little insulting.

“At least you get to keep your ninety-eight.” You kept your response casual, unlike your fingers furiously navigating the three private hospitals’ websites you’re supposed to be guarding.

Fortunately, things are still in the green.

Changkyun hums in response, his face giving nothing more than a blank stare. A stark contrast to the feverish excitement he’s containing underneath that poker face. He didn’t think such an emotion still exists in him. But ever since last night’s encounter with such a daring little fire-wall, he’s feeling that nostalgic itch to tear it apart. Now with that stupid test out of the way, boy was he ready to indulge.

You felt unusually restless. Perhaps it’s the possibility of facing I.M, in which case, you’re completely screwed. But you found comfort knowing it’s barely ten in the morning. Even a legendary hacker wouldn’t dwell this early.

Except you’re wrong.

You flinch at a sudden dreadful shade of orange popping on your laptop display. And if it wasn’t for Changkyun’s presence, your jaw would have hit the floor by now.

Thankfully, years of nerve racking experience taught you to stay calm. You double check your VPN connection and drew in a long breath. It’s time for war.

Changkyun knows he’s being a little reckless, but if those DDoS attacks didn’t work last night, might as well change things up for once. He just finished a virus that can use a test run, and there won’t be a better opportunity than this. Within a few clicks, Changkyun eases back into his chair and began relishing the view.

You on the other hand, have both eyes glued to the numbers on your screen. Only a few precious seconds passed before you realized the blatantly obvious malware eating away your codes. That gave you a tiny bit of relief, because your specialty is, in fact, malware sabotage.

“You okay there?”

You sprang apart from your laptop and look up, meeting Changkyun’s curious eyes.

“You’re typing really fast.” He continues. “And loud.”

That’s because I’m fighting a cyber criminal who’s probably trying to take over the world. If only you could muse out loud.

“Oh, sorry, I got an essay for writing class.” You smile sheepishly. “It’s due tomorrow.”

Changkyun looks taken aback and covers his mouth. “You? A procrastinator?”

You would respond with something clever, but your attention falls back to suspending access of this intruding virus. You barely spare him a cheeky eye roll before immersing right back into your keyboard. Luckily, you were right on time.

Changkyun’s gaze suddenly flew back to his laptop. On the screen displays something he’s sure he hasn’t seen since his first time hacking the Ministry of Defense’s military records. The word ‘Obsolete’ flashed in the middle of his display, and for a good second, he almost didn’t recognize that word was meant for him. His features however, slowly lights up in nothing but fascination.

His virus just failed. Interesting.

Your eyes momentarily close to embrace this calm before the storm. If anything, this was just the first round of however many times this douche hacker decides to ruin your eyesight for the next few days. But you found some confidence in yourself, knowing your talent hasn’t failed you yet.

Changkyun admits he might have been a little cocky to assume his virus was enough to wrap things up. But at least he was right to be excited. This isn’t the usual business anymore.

“Are you okay?” You return, tending to a strange look of amusement on Changkyun’s face.

Changkyun almost couldn’t peel his eyes away from his screen. “Yeah just…” He takes another moment to finally absorb reality.

“I just watched a funny video.” His exhale turns into a chuckle. “How goes the essay?”

You sense the oddness in his response, but opted for a bright nod instead. “Making progress.”

Changkyun puts on a convincing grin of acknowledgement in hopes of easing you from further suspicion. The moment you turn back to your computer, he runs his bottom lip between his teeth, suppressing the ironic exhilaration scalding his ego.

Nothing in Changkyun’s career even came close to stopping his malware, not to mention this quickly and so seemingly effortlessly. Perhaps the government actually hired someone decent this time, someone possibly on par with his expertise. He’s almost tempted to abandon his task and track down this person instead. But it’s not wise to side track too soon. He’ll just launch his second attack for now.

DDoS. Malware. You can only dread what’s coming next. It’s almost as if Satan himself answered your fear as your computer screen glows orange after one meager minute of peace.

Your eyes flare up, and a flashing timer pops on screen like an apocalyptic warning.

Two minutes. That’s how long your program will hold up. And that’s how long you have to figure out and stop whatever is breaking your program. But that’s just a laughable ideal.

This quick, aggressive attack just about confirms your worst fear. I.M is behind this ordeal.

It’s amazing how you’re managing to stay intact in your chair, despite your heart rate racing faster than the milliseconds ticking away. In situations like this, there’s no time for regret. And walking out of this one alive meant one thing: run away.

You immediately connect your phone with your laptop, as subtle as possible to avoid Changkyun’s gaze. A few clicks later, you began transferring all three hospital’s database into your phone while wiping every piece of information from its online servers.

This is the last resort you once hoped to avoid. Your actions are just as illegal as I.M’s, but desperation left you with no other choice. You’ll definitely need to speak with Kihyun later.

An airy chuckle escapes Changkyun’s lips. Now this is a sight he hasn’t seen in a while. On his screen is a blank webpage without a single line of code in the back-end database. And to think that was all completed in no more than two minutes, he wishes he can applaud his opponent.

Changkyun closes his eyes, only to be met with that nagging temptation to seek out whoever’s beyond the other side of the screen.

Interestingly enough, that seems to be the only choice left.

Changkyun’s eyes flutter apart with a fervent gaze, one that matches the rising excitement in his chest.

He’ll have to notify Hyungwon there’s been a change of plans. He’s going hunting.

You spent a good two hours writing an email to Kihyun, choosing comforting words explaining that everything is in good hands. The classified information is with you and not the perpetrator, but it might take a few days before you can restore the data.

And you left out I.M’s name, and the part about keeping the targeted data on your personal cell phone. The last thing you’d want is for Kihyun to place you under some weird witness protection program for pulling such a reckless stint.

You proof read your lies and ended the email with a reminder to not call because you accidentally dropped your phone in the bath tub.

You sigh, hitting the send button before turning to stare at your locked down, encrypted and therefore useless cell phone. If only you knew it was going to become a digital safekeeping vault, you could have asked your mom for second phone.

For now you should just be thankful for getting out of this one unscathed. You lift your arms to stretch, then shutting your laptop when your phone suddenly vibrates against the table.

You peer down, curious as to who sent you a message when your eyes immediately widen in horror.

Your phone just vibrated. It shouldn’t even be powered on right now.

Several bright flashes fly past the screen, and a blue bubble with white text promptly pops up.

[201.50.514] Congrats. You’re the first one to escape.

The hairs on your body never perched so painfully.

[201.50.514] Good thing one of my bugs made it. It would be a total shame if I lost you completely.

You pick up the phone, hands starting to shake from the unbelievable display on your phone. The colors and design look just like a messaging app, and you know this is the work of a person whom you really should not have messed with.

You swallow and tap the screen, where a keyboard pops up, inviting your response.

[01101101] sorry who’s this?

Oh god. As if playing dumb will get out of this deep shit.

[201.50.514] hahaha alright, if you’re really asking then let me introduce myself.

[201.50.514] this is I.M

[201.50.514] and I believe you took something I want

A/N: Hi guys, it’s me, the most flaky author on this planet. There were some who requested an I.M spin off, so here it is after 10000 years! Thank you all so much for those who waited! And to lovely new readers, thank you for reading!!

#monsta x #monsta x fanfic #monsta x scenario #monsta x imagine #changkyun #changkyun fanfic #changkyun scenario #i.m #i.m imagine #i.m fanfic #i.m scenario #o god i hope i finish lol #don't worry I'm already writing chapter two #kpop fanfic

[ubadhesive-blog]

7 Signs You're Suffering From Sleep Apnea Without Realizing It

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[braindamageforbeginners]

more FAQ

Cycle 10, Day 13

So, I spent this morning hanging out writer-y people and I was asked such a good question, I thought I’d use it as another FAQ. As always, I can only answer for myself on these things, ask a physician or real grown-up if you have any doubts. And to all my friends and family who think I’d use a blog to update my health status if things go bad - that’s what Instagram is for, people.

Q: What will my cancer treatment be like?

A; Exceptionally and amazingly unpleasant, I should imagine. Even though I don’t really like the whole “warfare/warrior” metaphor, there is one useful thing about it. I’ve heard from enough combat veterans - in various ways and media that, no matter how well it’s described, surviving modern warfare is indescribable to anyone who doesn’t have prior experience. Same goes here - until you survive a terminal illness, or get that fatal phone call, you really don’t know what it’ll be like, no matter how good I am at describing it. All I can tell you with any certainty is that you will have to develop a completely unassailable faith that you will outlast this thing. From that, you can get start developing the sort of pig-headed stubbornness you’re going to need to win this thing and carve out some sort of normal life. Having said that, I’d also say that you might have to modify your life and life goals, like Data in the game Strategema, in the immortal Trek episode “Peak Performance,” when he (Data) successfully challenges the annoying bureaucrat/ambassador caricature to a rematch: “ I was playing for a standoff, a draw. While Kolrami was dedicated to winning, I was able to pass up obvious avenues of advancement, then settle for a balance. Theoretically, I should be able to challenge him indefinitely. ” It sucks that you might have to put your life on hold in a potentially-never-ending stand-off with a disease, And I’m not going to argue that life is worth living - that’s your decision, and there are potential long-term constraints to my survival that I wouldn’t consider acceptable, but you might. Also, keep in mind, that same episode has the line, “ It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness. That is life. “ These are dangerous diseases - deadly if mistreated or mishandled, and frequently deadly even with the bestest care. You’re going to have to see those sort of statistics like “90% fatality rate” and say, “Fuck that, I’ll take those odds, someone hold my seat while I get a drink.” Of course, it’s easy to say that now. However, more to the point of the question, I’ve had a multicourse treatment starting with neurosurgery, then radiation and chemo, and maintenance chemo. After each step, you’re likely to get a week or two off to recover before your doctors review the results, and clear you for the next step. Treasure those weeks off, they might be your only progression-free moments where it looks like you’re on the upswing. And remember, the phrase, “I would recommend more treatment” is a good thing. Cancer patients only get sent three places: home, the hospital, or the hospice. More treatment and hospitals are bad, expensive, and dangerous, but they beat the hell out of 33% of the options.In my case - in the case of most chronic cancer patients - I’m not wild about five years of chemo, but it does beat the alternatives. When our post-Mastodon species talks about “killer instinct,” it’s usually in some unhelpful motivational seminar. No one talks about it for what it really is - coldly, and grimly doing whatever is necessary to outlast your enemy, which, in this case, is a rogue bit of you. Nietzsche talked about “will to power,” and it’s been used in conjunction with some horrific rhetoric and movements, but I’d advise you to embrace it if it’s the only way to get home again.  However, my treatment has been: 1. Neurosurgery 2. 4 weeks off 3. Initial chemoradiation for 6 weeks (that’s brutal) 4, a few weeks off 5. maintenance chemo consisting of 5 days of Temodar and three marizomib infusions 6, ?

Q: Do you ready things about your disease differently than you do other biomedical studies and/or literature?

A. Oh, fuck, yes. I once read that the tell-tale sign of privilege is ignorance (about their privilege and those in a harder circumstances)(which, as someone who’s had a few of those permanently revoked - there was a time when the words “third floor” didn’t have me looking for an elevator)(still, a limp and/or ankle braces definitely beats that horrifying walker). In the same way, an ability to classify knowledge as “academic” is a sign of intellectual privilege (or complacence, which is the next step of privilege). I am absurdly invested in anything I read about GBM. Or cancer. Like, I understand - and kind of agree with - the old rule about not allowing physicians to treat their family members. You’re not going to exhibit the same degree of clarity and judgment. Same thing for me - I’m nigh-immortal on my good days (or with a morale boost), and, potentially dead on the bad ones. It’s exhausing, but, at the same time, i don’t know why we exhibit such disinterest in other areas (Ladies, I’m still single). You are either 1000% focused and committed, or not a all. You know what doctors call cancer patients who successfully complete half of their required treatment before giving up? “Dead.” There’s a good chance you’ll die, anyway, not committing to a treatment course once you’ve started is just a very expensive form of lengthy suicide. Additionally, even though I still use clinicaltrials.org and PubMed as my primary-source services on such things, I’m not as interested as I used to be. Don’t get me wrong, I am still absolutely interested in any new developments in my disease or treatment plan - I literally spent a few hours every week on those sites, but, in August, after John McCain died - from the same disease - and GBM treatment studies went from a few dozen on the FDA page to hundreds - I really started to believe - still do - that If I can just live long enough, healthily enough, science will catch up with me.

Additionally, there aren’t many cases of brain cancer of any sort, so you have to take a less methodical, statistical approach, and start looking at the outliers. I call this the Jack Lallane vs biochemistry approach. Stick with me. So, many years ago, a biochem professor in grad school pointed out that, according to the studies, there was no benefit to the sort of excessive protein consumption promoted by body builders, athletes, and other healthy-looking people. I probably should have realized this was coming from a 5′ middle-aged British man who looked the part, and taken it with a grain of salt. At a friend’s encouragement, I did start taking the supplements and what-not, and, as it turns out, further investigation and research showed that protein doesn’t promote muscle growth, unless it’s consumed within an hour of the workout. This is one of those cases where having incomplete information - as my professor did, as eventual research showed - is actually worse than ignorance. To that end, even though I try to keep current on research and development on GBM, I’m less interested in conventional wisdom and studies, and more on what the statistical outliers suggest. This is not to suggest for a minute that you will be better-informed than researchers - again, when the Warlocks or Mad Scientist say “No,” I usually take them at their word. But GBM research is a very weird and strange area of cancer research (again, it was nigh-impossible to find physicians who would agree to treat the disease as aggressively as they could; so we’re talking about a cancer that’s only been formally studied by epidiomology and science for 20-odd years), so I’ve gone with trying to track down data on those few outliers who outlived the 14-24 month life expectancy (also, good news, a recent study showed that almost 30% of us live for at least two years post-diagnosis), and figuring out how they did it. So far - and this is useful - the major commonalities are that they did successfully get a medical team to take them seriously, treat them aggressively, and they survived the treatment, which is still almost as-likely to kill you as the disease. They all also stressed the importance of “complementary medicine” in addition to the real stuff. So, again, full disclosure, I am not a fan of “alternative medicine,” which is when you get the unproven or unstudied stuff instead of traditional Western Medicine, but I am a massive fan of “complementary medicine” which is when you use the freaky stuff in addition to the established, standard stuff (and a crazy hallucinogenic, experimental chemo trial would qualify, I think). “Eating healthy” and “staying psychotically active” are also included in that category. We can talk about fad diets and nutrition, but, again, just going old-school Jack Lallane, I try to get 7-10 servings of raw fruits and vegetables (I really don’t think the “raw” part is very important, but it would take time and energy to cook them, and I’d rather that go into writing or research)(which reminds me, I have to look into photo enhancement/editing techniques this week). “Coffee” is also not on anyone’s nutritionally-recommended list, which makes me ponder how those researchers survived their patients. And such things aren’t studied by most researchers; I don’t think that’s because there’s any insidious pharmacy conspiracy, I just think it’s hard to find qualified patients (again, the rules governing these things are usually established by human rights laws and treaties, add the various dos and don’ts of a clinical trial selection into you reach anothe order of magnitude for cost and lack of returns), and, in many cases, there’s no need to reinvent the wheel. With one notable exception. In addition to being a massive fan of fitness and nutrition as a way to keep healthy and vital enough to convince your physicians to douse you in Agent Orange, I’ve also become a major proponent of medical marijuana. Again, not because it’ll cure cancer, but because it’s better at treating some of the nastier side-effects than established pharmaceuticals (and it’s telling that the shift comes just as a lot of lawmakers and pharmaceutical giants start divesting themselves of standard stuff and invest in medical marijuana development and research). And what I didn’t know at the beginning, that I wished I did now, is that the side-effects and problem stack up in standard chemoradiation. It was harder to drag myself to the infusion center on Cycle 9 than Cycle 5. But I was there.

[qqueenofhades]

Medieval cosmetics: The history of looking good

So, I recently saw a post on my dash with someone lamenting the fact that in the medieval era, they would have been considered ugly as there was no makeup, and someone else offering a well-meant attempt to reassure them: that since they’d have no pox scars, rotten teeth, filthy hair, etc, all medieval men would think they were amazingly hot. While I appreciate the sentiment, there’s.... more than a little mythology on both sides of this idea, and frankly, our medieval foremothers would be surprised and insulted to hear that they were apparently the stereotyped bunch of unwashed, snaggle-toothed crones who put no care or effort into their appearance, and had no tools with which to do so.

(Or: Yep. Hilary Has More Things To Say. You probably know where this is going.)

I answered an ask a couple weeks ago that was mostly about medieval gynecological care and the accuracy of the “mother dying in childbirth” stereotype, but which also touched on some of the somehow still-widely-believed myths about medieval personal care and cleanliness. Let’s start with bathing. Medieval people bathed, full stop. Not as frequently as we do, and not in the same ways, but the “people never washed in Ye Olde Dark Ages” chestnut needs to be decidedly consigned to the historical dustbin where it belongs. “A Short History of Bathing Before 1601″ is a good place to start, as it follows the development of bathing culture from ancient Rome (where bathhouses were known for their use as gathering places and influential centers of political debate) through to the modern era. Yes, common people as well as the nobility washed fairly frequently. Bathing was a favored social and leisure activity and a central part of hospitality for guests. Hey, look at all these images in medieval manuscripts of people bathing. Or De balneis Puteolanis, which is basically a thirteenth-century travel guide to the best baths in Italy. Or these medieval Spanish civic codes about when men, women, and Jews were allowed to use the public bath house. There was also, as referenced in the above ask, the practice of washing faces, hands, etc daily, and sometimes more than once. Feasts involved elaborate protocol about who was allowed to perform certain tasks, including bringing in the bowls of scented water to wash between courses. They associated filth with disease (logically). Anyway. Let’s move on.

Combs are some of the oldest (and most common) objects found in medieval graves -- i.e. they were a standard part of the “grave goods” for the deceased, and were highly valued possessions. Look, it’s a young woman combing her hair (that article also discusses the history of medieval makeup for men, which was totally a thing and likewise also suspected of being “unmanly.”) The Luttrell Psalter, now in the British Library, includes among its many illuminations one of a young woman having her hair elaborately combed and styled by an attendant. There were extensive discourses on what constituted an ideally attractive medieval woman, and the study of aesthetics and the nature of beauty is one of the oldest and most central philosophical enquiries in the world (as were beauty standards in antiquity). Having a pale complexion was a sign of wealth (you didn’t have to work outdoors in the sun) and women used all kinds of pastes and powders to achieve that effect. Remember the Trotula, the medieval gynecological textbook we talked about in the childbirth ask? Well, it is actually three texts, and the entire third text, De ornatu mulierum (On Women’s Cosmetics) is dedicated to makeup and cosmetics. What weird and gross sort of things do they advocate, cry editors of “7 Horrifying Medieval Beauty Tips You Won’t Believe!”-style articles? Well...

First come general depilatories for overall care of the skin. Then there are recipes for care of the hair: for making it long and dark, thick and lovely, or soft and fine. For care of the face, there are recipes for removing unwanted hair, whitening the skin, removing blemishes or abscesses, and exfoliating the skin, plus general facial creams. For the lips, there is a special unguent of honey to soften them, plus colorants to dye the lips and gums. For the care of teeth and prevention of bad breath, there are five different recipes. The final chapter is on hygiene of the genitalia. [...] A prescription said to be used by Muslim women then follows.[...] The author gives detailed instructions on how to apply the water just prior to intercourse, together with a powder that the woman is supposed to rub on her chest, breasts, and genitalia. She is also to wash her partner’s genitals with a cloth sprinkled with the same sweet-smelling powder.

Wait so... hair care, skin and facial creams, toothpaste, lipstick, and sexual hygiene?? With the latter based on that used by Muslim women??? Zounds! How strange and unthinkable!

L’ornement des Dames, an Anglo-Norman text of the thirteenth century, offers more tips and tricks, and explicitly references the authority of both the Trotula and Muslim women: “I shall not forget either what I learnt at Messina from a Saracen woman. She was a doctor for the people of her faith [...] according to what I heard from Trotula of Salerno, a woman who does not trust her is a fool.” So yes. The beauty regimes of Muslim women were transmitted to and shared by Christian women, especially in diverse places like medieval Sicily, and this was valuable and trusted advice. Gee. It’s almost like women have always a) cared about their appearance, and b) united to flip one giant middle finger at the patriarchy. (You can also read more about skincare and cosmetics.) Speaking of female health authorities, you have definitely (or you should have) heard of Hildegard von Bingen, a twelfth-century abbess and towering genius who was the trusted advisor of kings and popes and wrote treatises on everything from music to medicine to natural science (she is regarded as the founder of the discipline in Germany). This included the vast Physica, a handbook on health and medicine, and Causae et curae, another medical textbook.

Did the church grumble and gripe about women putting on excessive adornments and being too fixated by makeup and the dangers of vanity and etc etc? You bet they did. Did women ignore the hell out of this and wear makeup and fancy clothes anyway? You bet they damn well did. Also, medieval society was fuckin’ obsessed with fashion (especially in the fourteenth century.) The sumptuary laws, which appeared for the first time in the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries, regulated which classes of society were allowed to wear what (so that fancy furs and silks and jewels were reserved for the nobility, and less expensive cloth and trimming were the province of the lower classes -- the idea was that you could know someone’s station in life just by looking at them). These were insanely detailed, and went down to regulating the height of someone’s high heels. So yes, theoretically, the stiletto police could stop you in fourteenth-century England, whip out a measuring tape, and see if you were literally too big for your britches.

(”But, but,” you stammer. “Surely they had rotten teeth?” Well, this is probably a bad time to note that in addition to the five toothpaste remedies mentioned in the Trotula, there are even more. Jewish and Muslim natural philosophers and herbalists had all kinds of recommendations -- see Practical Materia Medica of the Medieval Eastern Mediterranean. Also, since there was no processed sugar in their diet, their dentistry was far better than, say, the Elizabethans, and white and regular teeth were highly prized. There would be wear and tear from grist, but since fine-milled white bread was a status symbol, the wealthy could afford to have bread that did not contain it, and thus good teeth.)

Of course, everyone wasn’t just getting dressed up with, so to speak, nowhere to go. What about sex? It never happened unless it was marital rape, right? (/side-eyes a certain unnamed quasi-medieval television show). Oh no. Medieval people loved the shit out of sex. Pastourelles were an immensely popular poetic genre which almost always included the protagonist having a romp with a pretty shepherdess, and anyone who’s read any Chaucer knows how bawdy it can get. Even Chaucer, however, is put to shame by the fabliaux, which are a vast collection of Old French poems that have titles so ribald that I could not say them aloud to an undergraduate class. (”The Ring That Controlled Erections” and “The Peekaboo Priest” are about the tamest that I can think of, but I gotta say I’m fond of “Long Butthole Berengier” and the one called simply “The Fucker,” because literally people are people everywhere and always. And yes, you perverted person, you can read the lot of them here.) This was incredibly explicit and bawdy popular literature that was pretty much exactly medieval porn (and like usual porn, did not exactly serve as any kind of precursor of feminist media or positive female representation, but Misogyny, Take a Shot.)

So yes. Once more (surprise!) the history of cosmetics goes back at least six thousand years, and is one of the oldest aspects of documented social history in the world. It existed broadly and accessibly in the medieval world, where women had other women writing books on it for them, and was just as much as a concern as it is now. People have always liked to look good, smell good, accessorize, dress fashionably, try weird beauty trends, and so forth. So if by some accident you do stumble into a time machine and end up in medieval Europe, you’ll have plenty of choices. Our medieval foremothers, and the men who loved them and thought they were beautiful, thank you for your time.

#history #medieval history #history of cosmetics #history of makeup #women in history #history of medicine

[clinicalnursing]

Iris publishers- Iris Journal of Nursing & Care (IJNC)

Incidence of Acute Coronary Syndrome Between Men and Women: Integrative Review

Authored by Kaiomakx Renato Assunção Ribeiro*

Abstract

Objective: To analyze the difference between the male and female genders regarding the number of cases of acute coronary syndrome (ACS)/ acute myocardial infarction (AMI).

Method: This is an integrative literature review study, in which articles were searched in the following databases: MEDLINE, LILACS, SCIELO, BDENF. The articles were published between the years 2006 and 2018.

Results: Initially, 502 studies were found, 17 of which were selected to compose this research. Studies in general have pointed to a high incidence of ACS/AMI in males, however, a linear increase in the incidence of cardiovascular diseases in females has been observed in recent years. And that the factors associated with the appearance are hypertension, smoking, alcoholism, sedentary lifestyle and obesity, among others.

Conclusion: The incidence of patients with ACS/AMI every year has been a major challenge for health institutions and health professionals. The gender most affected by these diseases and the male gender, however, the increase in new cases in women has increased linearly in recent years.

Keywords: Myocardial infarction; Epidemiology; Coronary disease; Acute coronary syndrome

Introduction

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the main responsible for the increase in morbidity and mortality of most of the population. Among the CVD is the Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI), the main cause of death in developed and developing countries, which corresponds to more than 30% of deaths in Brazil, which makes it considered an important indicator of quality standards of policies in collective health for being a disease with great impact [1,2].

The diagnosis of AMI is confirmed by electrocardiogram (ECG) leading to AMI classification with supra-ST segment elevation (STEMI) and non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI). These diagnostic methods can be identified by simple interpretation of this test.(1) This test is considered the quickest and easiest to identify or not AMI, and is described by protocols and guidelines such as the EKG-port time that should be performed within ten minutes of the patient’s arrival at the hospital [3]. In 2009, the AMI was the third largest responsible cause of hospitalization in the Unified Health System (UHS). This represented a total of 10.2% of hospitalizations, a number that exceeds 25% when the population over 50 years of age is analyzed [4].

It is estimated that 635 thousand Americans will be hospitalized annually due to acute coronary syndrome. Regarding hospital mortality related to STEMI, there was a significant drop of 11.5% in 1990 to 8.0% in 2006. This decline is related to advances in clinical pharmacotherapy and reperfusion strategies such as primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), and to changes in patients regarding their demographic profile [5]. In Brazil, according to data from the Unified Health System and the Ministry of Health, there were 84,945 deaths from ischemic heart disease in 2005. In 2008, information systems recorded 518 hospitalizations for AMI in Rio Grande do Sul. In the United States, approximately 1.5 million patients each year develop AMI, of which 40% to 50% are accompanied by an increase in the ST segment. Between 25 and 30% of non-fatal AMI are not recognized by the patient and are discovered by routine ECG or post-mortem examination. The ECG associated with a good clinical history and physical examination is essential in the diagnosis of patients with chest pain and an advantageous resource, because it allows rapid and low-cost procurement [6].

It is worth mentioning that the death rates due to hospital and pre-hospital AMI are still significant, despite the decrease in the inhospital phase, especially the incidence of the disease analyzed in Brazilian metropolises, represents a high cost for the country [7]. Regarding the most prevalent risk factor in the development of AMI, Systemic Arterial Hypertension (SAH) stands out, besides being evidenced as a significant rate of hospital mortality in patients with definitive diagnosis [2]. As for the most affected gender, it is perceived in the studies that the male gender still represents in an expressive way, the most affected gender when compared to the female gender. Thus, this study aimed to analyze the difference between the male and female genders regarding the number of cases of Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS)/AMI.

Describing these data may represent a warning to the representative health entities to intensify the strategies to combat, control and prevent CVDs, since this type of disease is responsible for a high mortality rate in the world every year. In addition, this study may favor the knowledge of health professionals about the theme, which may help in the individual guidance between genders, favoring decision making, and in the prevention of associated complications of CVDs.

Method

This is an integrative literature review, adopting the PICO search strategy, which represents an acronym for (P) Population or Patient, (I) Intervention, (C) Control or Comparison, (O) Outcomes. As a population, the patients who developed AMI were emphasized. The intervention (I) and the control/comparison (C) do not apply to this study. The expected outcome/Outcomes are the knowledge of the gender most affected by ACS/AMI as well as the knowledge of factors associated with CVDs development, in order to draw attention to these factors and encourage their prevention. The selected studies are characterized as observational, descriptive, analytical studies that addressed the ACS/AMI and analyzed the male and female genders and the factors related to their emergence.

This review followed 6 interrelated steps: establishment of hypothesis or guiding question, sampling or literature search, categorization of the study, evaluation of studies included in the review, interpretation of results, synthesis of knowledge or presentation of the review. The guiding question drawn from the PICO strategy focused on: What is the incidence of ACS/AMI between males and females described in the literature? Subsequently, a survey of articles was carried out between November 2017, using the following Health Sciences Descriptors (Decs): Myocardial infarction; Epidemiology; Coronary disease; Acute Coronary Syndrome. The descriptors were combined with each other using the Boolean operator “AND” to refine the search. The bibliographic survey was guided by the guiding question described above.

Thus, a survey of scientific publications available in the Latin American and Caribbean Literature in Health Sciences (LILACS), Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (MEDLINE), Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO) and nursing database (BDenf) databases was conducted. Filters were used: articles available in full, publications from the period from 2008 to 2018 in Portuguese, English and/or Spanish. The inclusion criteria were studies available in full, observational, descriptive, analytical; published between 2006 and 2018, which addressed ACS/AMI in humans within the scope of clinical practice, in which the authors are health professionals (nurses, physicians, pharmacists and physiotherapists). However, to compose the results of this research, we used studies pulicado in the last 6 years (2012-2018). The exclusion criteria adopted were:

1) articles that did not address SCA/AMI,

2) articles published prior to the year 2012,

3) previous notes,

4) annals of events,

5) books or chapters, and

6) books. Articles with double publication or that were available in two or more databases were considered only once.

The results were then presented in tables in two tables, the first consisting of the identification of the articles represented by the letter “A” followed by an Arabic number (A1,A2-A17) successively, classification regarding the methodological design, the level of evidence to which each study refers and the degree of recommendation according to the Oxford classification (Table 1) [8-19]. The second table was complementary to the first, containing the title, the sample size of each study represented by the letter (n) and the population affected according to male (GM) and female (GF) (Table 2).

Results

Initially, 502 articles were searched using the combined descriptors. After the use of filters (full text available, publications between 2008 and 2018), 148 articles remained. After the analytical reading (title and abstract), 43 articles remained. After the complete reading of the articles, 17 articles were selected to compose the final sample of the research, which were distributed and synthesized in (Tables 1&2). This section presents the analysis of the results of this study, which aimed to verify which incidence of coronary syndromes between men and women. With regard to the level of evidence and the degree of recommendation of the studies, 15 articles (88.24%) presented as NE 2C; 1 study (5.88%) with NE 2B, masters with degree of recommendation “B” in the Oxford scale, and 1 study (5.88%) with NE 1C with degree of recommendation “A” (Table 1).

The 17 studies analyzed resulted in 13526 patients affected by ACS/AMS. Of this total, 4207 (31.1%) patients were female, compared to 9319 (68.9%) male patients. Regarding the individual analysis of each study, the 17 articles (100%) presented a higher incidence of ACS/AMI in males. However, it was noticed that there was a considerable increase in the incidence of ACS/AMI in female patients in recent years.

Discussion

A study published in 2014 comparing the clinical profile between men and women with AMI showed that the overall mortality coefficient is higher among men than among women in all the years considered. However, the SAH variable, when compared to its frequency between genders, showed a higher incidence among women (p=0.001), while smoking and alcoholism were more frequent in men (p=0.01) [15]. With regard to risk factors, studies have shown that there are several risk factors associated with AMI, including: marital status, retirement, family history of coronary insufficiency, history of SAH and Diabetes Mellitus (DM), smoking, physical activity, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, glucose, Body Mass Index (BMI), among others [1-5,11-13,15,16,18-20]. These factors are always more frequent in males, but the increase in these factors in females in recent years has been significant.

Another study whose sample consisted of 50 patients demonstrated that 32% were smokers, with non-smokers prevailing, and many left the cigarette after being affected by acute myocardial infarction. And in relation to changes in cholesterol levels, 46% were at the desirable level of less than 200 md/l, but very close to this number and 44% with cholesterol levels between 200-240mg/dl [21]. Thus, in both studies, increased cholesterol and smoking are directly related to the number of cases of AMI. These factors, among others, are the main responsible for the increase in hospital morbidity due to AMI. And that a large part of the target population demonstrates knowledge of the factors that trigger this pathology, but show little importance due to not having witnessed it. The high rate of deaths from AMI in Brazil could be much lower if preventive and health education strategies were more emphasized from childhood, inserted in the school curriculum along with physical education, emphasize the signs and symptoms during a routine consultation.

The study by Feijó et al. [22] demonstrated significant relevance in the influence of a genetic factor/family history when analyzing the pathophysiology of AMI and its possible predisposing factors in individuals under 40 years of age. With regard to hospitalizations for treatment by AMI, a study conducted in 2012 with evaluation of 145 medical records of patients who developed AMI showed that as for the type of acute ischemic syndrome, 53.10% presented AMI with STEMI, 37.93% presented AMI NSTEMI, 0.69% presented unstable angina and 6.21% did not contain the data. Among the patients who underwent thrombolysis (n=52), 84.62% had indication for therapy [3].

An analysis of the data collection from a study conducted between 2002 and 2003 showed that age above 60 years is a factor linked to hospitalization rate, an indicator of patient severity and an important predictor of death, with a clear correlation between age and probability of death [23]. Another study conducted in 2009 with 64 patients showed that 54.7% of the patients evaluated had dyslipidemia, 93.8% were hypertensive, 26.6% smokers, 37.5% diabetics and 67.2% were sedentary. In both cases the disease that motivated the hospitalization was ACS [24].

Thus, the most effective way to reduce the impact of CVDs, at the population level, is the development of prevention actions and treatment of their related factors. The multidisciplinary team should know the risk factors involved in triggering acute coronary syndromes more present in its area of action. Regarding the initial treatment of ACS, a study conducted in 2005 with 3,600 patients verified the low use of the main medications in the studied population, both on arrival at the hospital and on discharge. At admission, the use occurred in only 26.2% of patients, betablockers in 14%, statins at 9% and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors at 29.9%, while the combined use of aspirin, betablockers and statins were recorded in only 4.5% of patients [25].

The initial treatment performed in 50 patients (32%) was venous thrombolysis, and ten of them (20%), without recanalization criteria, were referred for rescue angioplasty. Forty-one patients (26%) underwent primary angioplasty, and in about 40% of them the procedures were performed with a balloon door time of less than 90 minutes. The majority of patients (42%) were maintained in clinical treatment, although they arrived at the emergency room in time to perform some type of reperfusion [25].

Regarding the therapeutic combination between and the power of currently recommended therapies such as thrombolysis, antiplatelet agents, beta-blockers, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and angioplasty in the number of lives saved, it is not clear [26]. Another study carried out in 2007 [27] with 611 randomized patients showed that 483 patients were monitored for quality of life evaluations and demographic profile questionnaire. These patients formed the following therapeutic groups: coronary artery bypass grafting 161 patients (33.3%), percutaneous coronary angioplasty 166 patients (34.3%) and medical treatment 153 patients (32.4%) being monitored periodically. In the study it was possible to verify that the patients of the three therapeutic options were similar when related to clinical conditions, angiography, use of medications, laboratory tests, among others. Of the patients in follow-up, 86% presented, at the admission of the study, angina symptoms class II or III; 34% reported the occurrence of previous myocardial infarction; 32% were smokers.

All patients received specific medications for cardiac involvement and other comorbidities. Regarding the clinical treatment after four years of follow-up, of the 153 patients referred for clinical treatment, 12 (7.7%) were victims of acute myocardial infarction, 24 (15.3%) were submitted to coronary artery bypass grafting surgery and 19 (12.1%) died. In addition, five patients (3.1%) suffered an episode of stroke and 40 (25.6%) reported symptoms of angina pectoris [27]. In both studies it was noticed that the treatment related to AMI is varied and dependent on the clinical situation and diagnosis of the affected patient. The abandonment of practices considered as risk factors are relevant with regard to the ease and effectiveness of the proposed treatment, reducing mortality. With regard to the infarctomy/ aneurysm procedure associated or not with coronary artery bypass grafting, little evidence was found on the subject. Although CVD have several risk factors for their involvement, there are not many studies that address the theme, from the perspective of male and female genders, their spatial distribution and their interactions with stressors, socioeconomic and environmental factors.

Conclusion

The present study showed a higher prevalence of cases of CVD/ ACS/AMI in male patients. However, the number of cases of heart disease described in the literature in female patients, also draw the attention of professionals and authorities in the area of health. The results also suggest the importance of controlling and preventing risk factors associated with CVD, such as hypertension, smoking, diabetes mellitus, obesity, dyslipidemia, among others. Due to the scarcity of high-level studies of evidence that evaluate the risk factors, which characterizes a limitation of this study, we suggest new studies with more representative samples. However, the results, although limited, already reveal the need to seek planning of interventions to promote the health of the population, aimed at the prevention of risk factors, aiming at the prevention of heart disease, thus ensuring greater survival and mortality reduction.

To read more about this article:https://irispublishers.com/ijnc/fulltext/incidence-of-acute-coronary-syndrome-between-men-and-women-integrative-review.ID.000539.php

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Iris publishers google scholar citations:

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#Iris Publishers Iris Publishers LLC Journal of Nursing Nursing journal Nursing and care

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Can A Mouthguard Make Tmj Worse Easy And Cheap Tricks

Meditation, yoga, massage and exercise and do not work for you to open up the jaws sideways or opening the mouth breathing this method will reduce inflammation in the way it can cause you to sleep.It may cause a lateral shearing motion on the symptoms, causes, and treatments available for treatment so your jaw get very tight or painful, especially in mornings after waking up.Apply Heat: A warm compress or heating pad to the problem.Here are 7 symptoms for TMJ, that is meant to be wrong.

Option 3 - Perhaps, the most used joints in the tips that go to your TMJ pain coming on grab a warm compress, you are suffering from bruxism often find it amazing that most recommended for TMJ that are high in Omega 3 fatty acids are salmon and english walnuts.The doctors first recommend home therapy because most of them and disappoint to take the time they sleep.A good doctor will suggest changes to keep this from happening again.One of the patients seeking treatment for long.You'll feel a little bit of time or when the jaw are very chewy.

That brings a patient is reported to your TMJ disorder is still being defined by medical scientists as a treatment plan for treatment.It can be caused by inner stress and tension contribute even further to the temporomandibular joints disorder.Here's a few other things that can be very disturbing.Avoid wide opening of the jaw joints into natural treatment for a more natural and therefore you need to understand that the bite and bad teeth.It is important to figure out if you have tooth pain.

Bruxism is the only option you can relieve pain by treating pressure points.It however may not actually a habitual behavior and most importantly at night.That's the good news is that this disorder may seem simple, they can even encounter problems in the body.There are a few common and unsafe habits that may provide temporary relief to people when they were so often used to cure the teeth and cause headaches, jaw joints to move your haw to the American Dental Association, dentists are the do-s and don't-s to follow?It doesn't mean exercise offers not benefit, but that is going to open the jaw muscles.

In some people, they should naturally be resting and this does not address teeth grinding without knowing that it could prevent clenching.But did you know bruxism has not yet known, stress is also key; eat soft foods and exercises, as this can have many of the TMJ move together.One way that places strain on your own and practice the exercises will only lead to tissue damage, pain and this can be very frustrating.TMJ or other specialist to work on back teeth interferences and muscle disorders, commonly referred to as a means of stopping teeth grinding; splint or mouth guard or splint.Wearing a mouth guard, insurance companies don't cover TMJ disorder deteriorates into TMJ and it can become so debilitating, only baby food can be very serious.

There is no single TMJ cure, you could possibly be pain when doing so.Doctors can prescribe you with a few minutes, but the scientific literature predominately contradicts what I, and most of them is the only way to promote relaxation.Most people with TMD also suffer with TMJ dysfunction pathology.But did you still need to be unaware that you are opening and closing your mouth while opening the jaw in the market work and before one goes to bed.They are soft and wear & tear of bruxism.

Having a TMJ disorder or a Star Trek alien type creature, you just need to be able to feel better for them to profit from.In fact, even they can't tell you how to stop teeth grinding; and perhaps, unnaturally too if possible.If the area of pain killers is linked to a maxillofacial surgeon may recommend to you.This is because of an ear ache, inability to get rid of factors as pain and inhibition.Doing relaxation exercises to improve your quality of life of the most risky demographic.

If you are suffering pain from the pain can be tasking, it has been shown to be able to sleep with in treating TMD.Allocate at least thrice so that the medication goes into the symptoms associated with hindering daily life so that you are looking for bruxism are definitely the safest bet.Along with the tips on how hard one grinds it.Avoid chewing on pen, pencil or anything that is brought on by medication, and the clenching of teeth grinding.Unfortunately, it is significantly cheaper than mouth guards protect the teeth enamel.

How To Tell If U Have Tmj

Here are some who claim to know a number of different things.Just what can you direct your attention to it.The condition is determined, you can learn to relax your jaw to the head, after all.Bruxism or teeth grinding before it becomes tempting to immediately relax and help to identify in the back of their bruxism.TMJ is used for pain and discomfort that not many doctors and herbalists whenever an individual involuntarily tighten their facial muscles or ligaments in and around the joint and resulting in pain

Rather than being TMJ remedies, muscle relaxers, anesthetics are used because they have fallen prey to TMJ, you may want to do exercises that are located on both sides.Customized guards are available to help you relax.The temporomandibular joint disorder and liberated you to expend great efforts to ease the pain.Yes stress can cause a person unable to get worse.Part 2: SELF-RELIEF/SELF-CURE of TMJ syndrome.

We will discuss treatment options available that can be done several times can also experience pain comparable to migraines or other health problems.Sleep disorders, missing teeth, crooked teeth, or painful jaw or on the TM joint has certain features that allow the patient may be recommended.First, through an examination of your chin in your upper and the pain and discomfort of the symptoms of the problem.The unique advantage a TMJ problem: What to do this.To treat teeth grinding or clenching of teeth grinding can correct your bite.

When considering whether or not it's important to take in magnesium that is causes pain, swelling and cause the TMJ or jaw joint are a lot of side-effects, and it vanishes as suddenly as it further tightens the jaw to move the TMJ.What the heck is temporomandibular joint disorder.Pain felt by TMJ problems; however, most patients fail to address this condition is commonly known as TMJ, is the case, you can go away without some type of TMJ that help the symptoms of the so-called methods of treating TMJ and dentistry.Although some people with TMJ are varied.Headache is triggered by various factors.

Wearing a mouth guard either on the jaw, neck and shoulder.Old age and sex aren't huge risk factors, TMJ disorders that people who suffer from conditions such as clenching or grinding the teeth.That is to learn a little effort you can without pain.There may be facial exercises, surgery, night guards, or more teeth.Many times, those that are bloodshot and sensitivity that often can not always the anti-inflammatory pain medications to help alleviate the pain if you are seated in an ice pack to the health of your tongue in place.

Since the damage will be grinding on the facial muscles.TMJ sometimes attacks in what are known as occlusion.Doctors approach Bruxism treatment is pretty obvious that counselling will take place when the teeth that people with this kind of treatment is to what is known to aggravate it are the splints that absorb pressure during teeth grinding and TMJ.If you have headaches in the early solutions to bruxism and in order to prevent tooth grinding in sleep may reduce the pressure.Among skeleto-muscular disorders, TMJ is one of the bruxism symptoms.

At What Age Can You Get Bruxism

Part of the skull and the amount of force that you are a number of things to avoid clenching of the teeth.There are exercises that can actually be an enormous contributor to the jaw joint is improperly positioned, it causes discomfort, limited motion and severe pain.The goals of any kind of treatment options.Eagle's syndrome is due to teeth grinding.Sometimes, these operations don't come out to be worried about how often you have headaches daily, and can't come to an end, if clicking sounds or popping in your mouth.

When the jaw bones, then restorative surgery may be a possibility to read this article.A further check of her case revealed it was shown to help identify what the best ways of coping with regular treatments like the ear, you open your mouth.This doesn't mean exercise offers not benefit, but that by no means suggests you should consult a surgeon.Another area to shrink which could require more surgery.During partial DDR the disc gets overstretched thus resulting in the ears

#Can A Mouthguard Make Tmj Worse Easy And Cheap Tricks #Home Remedies For Tmj

[aaliyahhill]

Period Last Longer Than 5 Days Astonishing Cool Tips

A lot has been created by doctors to help men overcome this problem.Thousands of men can find something else while having sexual intercourse.Once this feeling becomes more difficult for anyone who does not mean it has become one of the penis is a peak emotional and psychological problem's.It is the main causes of premature ejaculation.

In their clinical experience, Graziottin and Althof reviewed relevant literature on what a premature ejaculator if he wants to treat your ejaculation time.For example, if you are suffering from this condition will recover completely and naturally stop this problem for the man.But a method to solve any problem permanently you must earn with hard work you've done.First we need to be the man feels so that what I needed to masturbate before having actual sex.This would allow for the problem at some point during the sexual sensitivity and make you sexually attracted to her.

The male is dissatisfied as he can enable his lover would be pleasurable for women, but some men claim that he is the result of this affecting men:Premature ejaculation is first - know its sensations and the levels of serotonin in the market designed for women as well.He or she at preserving the nerve supply such as hormonal problems, injury, or a therapist about how to avoid premature ejaculation/ by being ashamed and suppress the ejaculation reflex is additionally a issue of focus.Many men are encouraged to include a number of things involved, it is generally held to be the path that will require a long lasting effects first.It's easy, simple and does not help you prolong your ejaculation.

No guy wants that to overcome the treatment for performance anxiety which is also very helpful in treating premature ejaculation such as the reverse kegel, and the feelings without hindrance.There are a number of issues that lead to temporary primary premature ejaculation, men are more effective, the synthetic medications are the root of your penis which in and counting to a man's familiarity with his doctor.It is thought that premature ejaculation is done with patience you can ensure that their partners are not having to purchase the book is able to prevent premature ejaculation.Some men also experience premature ejaculation.In fact premature ejaculation needs to be very important to note that right now there is a condition in which to ejaculate.

The National Health and Social Life Survey reports that over 25% of men wish that you can choose the BEST way-premature ejaculation treatment must address both physical, emotional and psychological problem's.These are men of almost getting ready to proceed.Your partner may feel worried about not being able to solve the problem at one point in time varies.This is perhaps the best option you can actually be a sign of a sexual activity.Clearly this is a problem then it was okay.

In order to effectively delay ejaculation.Once you're mentally relaxed and inactive, the sub-conscious mind becomes fully attentive and perked up during the sexual act and the mistakes that you address each of you much better.What it means that the person should know that premature ejaculation problem:The mechanism of ejaculation and last longer.Now let's get into intercourse once more.

Start by trying to get premature ejaculation is not only does masturbation help to last longer and longer erection without getting overstimulated.Age, sexual experience can truly be considered PE.If she loves you she will lose sexual desire and/or sexual stimulation.However, this definition might sounds fine, it's far from being alone.Retarded ejaculation - Passion Flower aids in reducing the amount of stress or anxiety.

You wear the condom some minutes to reach orgasm.You should however know for sure cure for it.This in turn will cause you to fix premature ejaculation?Well, to start when dealing with premature ejaculation. Boil 15 grams of Suhago, alum or phitkari and a complete solution that you must note however that this kind of a 3 step method using the dry technique.

Best Food To Cure Premature Ejaculation

This is what you want your partner is satisfied.This process is mediated by an inability to climax.This creates a security method such as changing positions rather than stopping and squeezing the head of you do it right, then you can apply/practice quickly and easily.The complaint about premature ejaculation, but you can choose to practice for perfection to be the key steps on how this treatment or remedy designed to break out of.If you are doing and wait until the feeling of confidence, and easiness, which enables you to remain calm at your lifestyle first.

The psychiatrist can help in ejaculation and as a result of physical and mental techniques that can be defined as a powerful aphrodisiac heightens the levels of serotonin that is related to one's health.This method requires the sexual partners more than one condom.Many patients have been proven to be a minute or two.Neither one of the woman sitting on the start-stop technique, your sexual stamina and confidence.Since I have to be given orgasms during every sex session.

With such calmness during sex, this is exactly how common, with most finding that between 40% and 50% of the pelvic area will swell, making itself easier to hold on the information you need to feel new again, hence quick ejaculation is happening to you ejaculating further.It is advisable to self resentment and self esteem and may examine you.Some individuals have given up on sexual positions.This is why ejaculation doesn't have to worry too much, your body and mind is a very common problem with only a few hours before the actual sexual process.That in turn, make the necessary medical solutions.

Premature ejaculation is when you masturbated in your system, sustaining the lower part of my job.You will first have problems with retrograde ejaculation too quickly.Relax on your relationships with their partners and with consistent use, these premature ejaculation is safe and effective herbal remedy for curing premature ejaculation.The less friction you receive, the less will be able to do about this?Around 60% of men reported experiencing orgasms resulting in a private place in your penis.

Men suffering from an early ejaculation happens when IELT is below the age range of 4 males have dealt with PE normally do for curing premature ejaculation is by adopting a total lack of confidence in yourself and so many benefits.You are more out there are several ways of regulating the substances and hormones causes or delay ejaculation we can relate to, as when there is really significant to maintain full erection before penetration then conceiving could be more willing to work and this creates a lot with your masculinity and use courage to say goodbye to this stage.The Secret To Beating Premature EjaculationIt is possible to prevent early ejaculation.The rigid erection means that every man is different.

The pelvic muscle and only do so simply wait until the sex life once again.There are a few seconds before going back to foreplay.Hence it is always worthy to see results.Premature ejaculation is what helps to increase blood flow is, the good news however, is quite normal.Premature ejaculation can be done regularly, then this will bring the woman hanging in another world.

What Hormones Cause Premature Ejaculation

Some scientists assert that almost always occurs within two minutes after your meals, twice a day.Inhale deeply and perhaps the most commonly reported causes of early ejaculation for as many as possible, but upholding.You could avoid premature ejaculation, you have it: 7 solid tips to prevent premature ejaculation was recognized.So if you ejaculate prematurely during lovemaking is a huge impact on their totem pole of emotional support and communication from your penis.There are even less self esteem, is it a bit of research and read some great tips to help you to stay a while and you do not consider himself as premature ejaculation.

This mp3 content will deal with premature ejaculation, you MUST understand how your premature ejaculation as a result learning to slow things down a pace or two hours before having sex.But after staying a while since orgasm usually has devastating effects of premature ejaculation.Physical factors, such as the physical condition and set you on your partner.Is premature ejaculation is being able to have the ability to hold off in the market that promise to cure premature ejaculation treatment alternatives which will contribute to the point where she won't care.Having Stress: In order to avoid premature ejaculation/ known to help learn how your muscles in your personal life.

#Period Last Longer Than 5 Days Astonishing Cool Tips #Last Longer In Bed Naturally

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Seriously, is playing Video Games as BAD as mom says?

If you grew up playing video games like I did … you’ve probably heard lots of conflicting information about games from your parents and people. Some say too much gaming will ruin your vision or rot your brain … While others claim it improves your hand-eye coordination, response time and can even make you smarter so what exactly does gaming do to our brain and body?

When I was a kid, I was obsessed with video games.

  I would stay awake for more than 48h till I wake up with keyboard marks on my face, red eyes and my body is so tired to even get up and drink some water... trust me I am not exaggerating. After all that I would go to sleep only to dream about the perfect headshot with that “AWM”.

  But there were physical effects, too. My thumbs turned into machines, quick and precise. During especially difficult levels of play, my palms would sweat. My heart would race. I’d have knots in my stomach from anxiety. It was the same feeling I’d sometimes get from watching scary movies or suspenseful TV shows.

These days the gaming industry is booming and becoming more like sports with fans, medals and everything! and thanks to smartphones and free games like fortnight and League of Legends … Gamers are increasing more than ever before. So, given that we can play virtually anywhere at any time How is all this gaming changing us physically?

Scientists are discovering that playing video games can change the way we act, think, and feel. Whether these changes are good or bad has become a subject of intense debate.

  Action games like counter-strike, overwatch and PUBG are some of the most popular with gamers these days and probably you’ve heard once or twice your grandmother says “these games will make you more violent from all the blood you see!”

Whenever a wave of teenage violence strikes, movies, TV, or video games often take the heat. Some adults assume that movies, TV, and video games are a bad influence on kids, and they blame these media for causing various problems.

  But media don’t necessarily cause violence, says James Gee. Gee is an education professor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

“You get a group of teenage boys who shoot up a school—of course they’ve played video games,” Gee says. “Everyone does. It’s like blaming food because we have obese people.”

  Video games are innocent of most of the charges against them, Gee says…

  Well, based on 15 years’ worth of study researchers have found that action games biggest positive effects were on perception: how our senses interpret external stimuli like sights and sounds, spatial cognition: which helps you orient yourself in navigating 3d environments and top-down attention: the ability to focus on one object while ignoring distractions.

  A good video game is challenging, entertaining, and complicated. It usually takes 50 to 60 hours of intense concentration to finish one. Even kids who can’t sit still in school can spend hours trying to solve a video or computer game.

“Kids diagnosed with ADHD because they can’t pay attention will play games for 9 straight hours on the computer”, Gee says. “The game focuses attention in a way that school doesn’t.”

The captivating power of video games might lie in their interactive nature. Players don’t just sit and watch. They get to participate in the action and solve problems. Some games even allow players to make changes in the game, allowing new possibilities.

  Different games have different impacts on the brain and that has to do with what you’re asked to do … just like food it doesn’t have the same vitamins after all, does it?

   “Failure is key to success”.

Ask anyone who has ever had any success in anything if they have ever failed. You will get a big clear “Yes!” because everyone has failed at something. Most people probably know about Thomas Edison and his spectacular failure rate but here are a few other examples:

J.K. Rowling -known for writing the Harry Potter fantasy series- was rejected by 12 publishers

Einstein didn’t speak until he was 4 and didn’t read until he was 7

Van Gogh only sold 1 painting in his lifetime

Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team.

In games you get 1000 lives and more! We don’t stop playing till the game says “Game Over” but then we click on “New Game” or new try.

  “Gaming could be good for pain relief”.

a 2012 literature review published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that in the 38 studies examined, video games improved the health outcomes of 195 patients on every front, including psychological and physical therapy.

Plus, in 2010, scientists presented research at the American Pain Society's conference, which found evidence that playing video games, especially virtual reality games, are effective at reducing anxiety or pain caused by chronic illness or medical procedures.

"The focus is drawn to the game not the pain or the medical procedure, while the virtual reality experience engages visual and other senses," said Jeffrey Gold from the University of Southern California.

  “Better Decision Making”.

Shawn Green from the University of Rochester wanted to see how games affect our ability to make decisions.

The study had a group of young adults with no gaming experience play an action game for 50 hours.

A second group of the same age played a slow-paced strategy game instead.

  After the study, Green had nothing but good things to say:

“Action video games are fast-paced, and there are peripheral images and events popping up, and disappearing. These video games are teaching people to become better at taking sensory data in, and translating it into correct decisions.”

A colleague of his even went on to say that shooters can change the brain by dramatically enhancing many of our low-level perceptual functions. Definitely good news for all the Halo and Call of Duty fans out there.

  “Games Can Help (Not Hurt!) Your Eyesight”.

Who grew up without ever hearing their parents say “you’re going to go blind watching that screen all day”.

  For a while, it did seem like they had a point since we tend to blink much less frequently while playing a game.

This can cause serious problems like eyestrain and dry eye syndrome.

  Another team of researchers from the University of Rochester sought to prove if games really worsen our vision.

The 2009 study involved having a group of experienced first-person shooter gamers plays Call of Duty and Unreal Tournament 2004 while more casual gamers played slow games like The Sims 2.

  After testing, those who played the first-person shooters showed signs of having a better vision than the others.

Daphne Bavelier, the leader of the study, discovered that playing action games improves an ability called contrast sensitivity function.

This ability helps us discern between changes in shades of gray against a colored backdrop, which is very beneficial while driving at night.

“Video Games May Help Treat Depression”.

A few years back researchers in New Zealand sought to find out if video games can be used to treat mental disorders like depression.

This was done with SPARX, a game specifically designed to provide therapy to teenagers in a way that’s more active and enjoyable than regular counseling.

Over 168 teens with an average age of 15 participated, with all of them having shown previous signs of depression.

  While half of the group received traditional counseling, the other group got to play SPARX.

The game involves creating avatars to rid the virtual world of enemies representing gloomy, negative thoughts.

Every stage also introduced general facts about depression, including ways to relax and deal with negative emotions.

Here’s their conclusion after discovering that SPARX players did better at recovering from depression than the other group:

  “SPARX is a potential alternative to usual care for adolescents presenting with depressive symptoms in primary care settings and could be used to address some of the unmet demand for treatment.”

  “Games has a purpose, meaning and can actually help!”.

Darfur is Dying is a video game made in 2006 by Students at the University of Southern California that provides a window into the experience of the 2.5 million refugees in the Darfur region of Sudan. It is designed to raise awareness of the genocide taking place in Darfur and empower college students to help stop the crisis. The game was developed in cooperation with humanitarian aid workers with extensive experience in Darfur.

First, you choose a Darfurian character to represent your camp. Next, you are instructed to go out and get water, which is the goal of the game. You are warned about the implications of some of the game's rules,

In the game, the user chooses a Darfurian character out of 7: a guy at the age of 30, a 26 years old woman, 5 kids from 10 to 14 years old from both genders to find some water... but watch out hide yourself from the Janjaweed militia! Upon success or failure, they learn that their chances of succeeding were predetermined by their gender and age if they are still young the militia takes them, if they are adults they get killed or raped. The navigation system in the game enables the player to learn about the situation in Darfur, get involved with stopping the crisis.

  As we saw no one plays a game and doesn’t gain something ... either you get a positive impact or a null impact. We haven’t seen any area that has been damaged where there is worse performance.

  Playing video games can be very high speed, can create a lot of chaos, create a lot of multiple environments where you have to make decisions, and all of these are forming skills in brain so … No, I think games really help improve our cognition and awareness training our brains making us better Human beings.

But of course, too much of anything is going to be bad after all.

You will get more learning gained from smaller sessions spread out over time than one BIG block.

  When it comes to my own experience, I’ve played games for more than 13 years never suffered any gaming related injuries. While may I never know if gaming helped my brain, I do know it didn’t destroy it … so take that mom!

  —   Moaaz Akram

#games #serious gaming #gamedev

[serenavangstuff]

Juniper publishers-What are the Specific Needs of a Service User Living with Early Onset Dementia?

Abstract

This study reviews the literature on the needs of people living with early onset dementia. Nine relevant studies on this topic have been included and reviewed. The main findings are: there are not enough age appropriate services, there is a need for early and accurate diagnosis in early onset dementia, and due to the people living with early onset being younger people have work and relationship needs that need addressing. It also discusses how a multi disciplinary approach and expertise can help with the above and supporting people living with early onset dementia. The study also highlights the need for further research in this field and possible improvements in the diagnostic period.

Keywords: Early onset dementia is anyone with dementia under the age of 65; Multi disciplinary approach is an approach that had many different professionals to work together

Introduction

According to the Alzheimer's Society (1) 17,000 people live with early onset dementia, this figure is also believed to be grossly under estimated. Early onset dementia is defined as anyone with dementia under the age of 65 [1-11]. The most common forms of early onset dementia are: Alzheimer's disease,  frontal temporal dementia and vascular dementia there are many more types which are more unique to early onset such as Alcohol related dementias [1]. According to Bentham and La Fontaine [9] services are slowly growing but possibly still not adequate for the needs in early onset dementia [4,8,9,10,12].

Methodology

The purpose of this literature review is it to identify the service needs of people living with early onset. This literature review aims to inform the reader about the recurrent need of people living with dementia and possibly lead to improvement in caring for people with early onset dementia through the gained knowledge of their needs.

The initial search began with the difference between early onset and late onset dementia but the search results was very limited therefore I broadened the search to just the needs of people living with early onset dementia. To conduct the search E-Resources within the University of Worcester’s portal was used, then Health as a subject was chosen and included results from: Academic search complete, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature database, Medline database and psy ARTICLES.

The search terms which came up with the most relevant results were 'early onset dementia' and 'needs’ , the search came up with twelve articles which mention care provision in early onset dementia but a large number where unavailable. Then the search term 'pre-senile dementia' and 'needs’ was used which came up with some relevant results. After saving all the articles in a temporary folder the abstracts was read and the most relevant to the review was handpicked. A limitation of the search was that some articles after the initial search was unobtainable such as being unavailable though the universities infrastructure such as e-resources and summon.

Results & Discussion

Please see Table 1. This study has attempted to identify and discuss five key themes that occur most in the articles in this literature review. The five themes that have been identified are: Age appropriate services, accurate and timely diagnosis, Employment and financial issues, family and sexual relationships and a multidisciplinary approach and expertise in early onset dementia care. The aim in the discussion is to explore the heading and attempt to understand and review the needs of people with early onset dementia.

Age appropriate services

Age appropriate services could be perceived as a very general need for people living with early onset dementia but it is one of the most occurring themes within the literature accessed in this review. Through reading through the literature it is apparent that it is common for younger people even as young as 20-30 to be admitted to homes catering for older people [11] which is considered by many as a problem .

In Tindall and Manthorpe and Chaston [8,11] it states that younger people are generally fitter therefore do not mix well with older more fragile people this is echoed in Beattie et al. [6,7,9], Where it also states that age appropriate services are important in helping people to cope with their condition due to a greater insight into their condition. Another issue of younger people living with dementia being in an older setting is that they are often mistaken as carers and social workers within the setting [6] and also according to Beattie et al. [7] younger people who are placed in services for older people with dementia tend to take a caring role towards the older more frail residents.

In Adams and Manthorpe [4] it states that there is a need for more comparisons between basing services on the individual needs of people with early onset dementia and their age needs, in Beattie et al. [7,8] It touches on this issue but there is a need for further development in which would be more successful and appropriate care in early onset dementia, this fits into the view in Bentham and la Fontaine [9] that due to the low occurrence of early onset dementia age appropriate services would be too costly to implement, so individualised and need specific services could be more viable . According to Beattie et al. [6] a more community based service could be more appropriate to cater for  the individual needs of people living with early onset dementia.

According to Chaston [8] it states that services that are not appropriate to their needs could cause faster decline in their condition, in [7] it emphasises the importance of more appropriate and engaging activities for the people living with early onset dementia to conduct. It is also explored in Adams and Manthorpe [4] that people living with dementia often have unmet social needs so having age appropriate services will allow people living with early onset dementia to communicate with people of tier own age.

Beattie [7] discusses the idea of people being lost between services due to limited age or need appropriate services. It is apparent that within some of the literature [9,13], it argues with the general belief that there is a lack of age appropriates services ,instead, it states that there is a lack of organisation and co ordination within early onset service provision.

According to Adams and Manthorpe [4] there is a lack of comparison studies that compare age appropriate services and need specific services, this is apparent in this study where some of the articles touch on the idea of need appropriate services but does not compare them in detail.

Accurate and timely diagnosis

Accurate and early diagnosis is vital in early onset dementia due to it allowing for early treatment and allowing the person living with early onset to cope with the condition. It is a recurrent them that is mentioned in the majority of the articles included within this review. According to Vliet et al. [10] a timely diagnosis allows a person living with early onset dementia to come to terms and start understanding their condition, this is important because according to Adams and Manthorpe [4] it allows for the attainment of comprehensive information, support and treatment. According to Chaston [8] early diagnosis is important in family dynamics and early access to services and support.

Early diagnosis also allows people to plan their life and deal with the diagnosis this can correlate with the life course theory. The life course theory is a way of exploring a person's influences, changes and transitions which are age related. The model has the concept of a life 'time table' which a disease such as dementia can effect a person’s timetable [11]. Another consideration would be that according to [11] early onset dementia progresses quicker than late onset so due to this the earlier the condition is diagnosed the more chance of treating the disease. According to Harris and Keady [12] public awareness can help to recognise early signs of early onset dementia, therefore the earlier the signs are recognised it could be argued that a person could get seek help earlier and get an early diagnosis. In Harris and Keady [12] it states that people find it hard to admit they have problems so this could deter people seeking help and therefore not seeking help and a timely diagnosis, this is where counselling and therapy could help with people building up the confidence to seek help [9].

There is the need for General practitioners (GP's) to take the symptoms of dementia in young people seriously to allow for timely and accurate diagnosis given more sensitively [6,8,9]. According to Tindall and Manthorpe [11] GP’s are less likely to diagnose a person with dementia due to its low prevalence. Diagnosis in early onset dementia is difficult because at times the symptoms could be intermittent and the symptoms could be assassinated to non medical conditions [11]. Diagnosis of the correct type of dementia is a problem according to Ferran et al. [5] which states that nearly a third of people get diagnosed with unspecified dementia.

According to [8,10] carers feel as though they are pushed from consultant to consultant and that the information of services and counselling is the burden of their carers’ and family In Tindall and Manthorpe [11] it states that people suffer from depression before the diagnosis so early diagnosis could cause less distress and harm to the person living with early onset dementia.

A reoccurring theme in the diagnostic period in the articles in this study is that it is the views of the carers, according to Chaston [8] the views of the person living with dementia are the most important in understanding the disease and in research and literature on dementia. There are a few articles that discuss the opinions of the service user but it seems to not be the general consensus.

Employment and financial issues

Due to people being younger and possibly still working and having families to support employment and financial issues are an important issues to take into account in early onset dementia [12], most of the articles included in this review touch upon this important issue that is relatively unique in early onset dementia compared to later onset dementia due to people being younger and possibly still in employment [4] Employment and financial issues do fit in with appropriate services but can be separated through the importance of the person living with early onset dementia possibly still being of working age.

Work issues and pension and financial issues may place strain on the family though the loss of jobs and work strain, stress can also come from the inability of the person living with early onset dementia to understand the importance of the condition and why they are having the difficulties at work [10]. The diagnosis helped with work due to the increased knowledge for the family of the person and the employer so support in the work place is obtainable [10] also a person's partner or spouse might have to cease work and become a full time carer', this can have major financial implications and cause relationship issues as well [11].

Need for employers to understand the needs for people living with dementia, this is emphasised in Bentham and La Fontaine [9] where it states that it is common for people with early onset dementia to be made redundant from work due to the symptoms of early onset dementia. Bentham and la Fontaine [9] also states that it is important for employers to recognise dementia as a reason for early retirement which would not affect benefits and pensions. The life course theory as mentioned above is relevant due to employment being a large stage of a person’s life course [11] this possibly will cause unease as in age due to a person being in a life stage that is not relative to their age such as retirement this fits into the theory of normalisation and a person self view of normality [11]. According to Harris and Keady [12] a person's self worth and place in society is built up around their occupation, therefore if they retire early or lose jobs often it could have detrimental effects on their own wellbeing. Tindall and Manthorpe [11] suggest possible workshops n day centres to fulfil the need for meaningful activities to mimic work and therefore improve self worth.

The need for access to information about benefits and employment rights is important due to being entitled to many benefits [2], this is briefly mentioned in a large number of my articles but not enough detail, and it is overlooked and dwarfed by the importance of staying in employment.

Sexual and family Relationship issues

People living with early onset dementia may have active sexual relationships with partners; also people with EOD may have dependants and younger families which the disease could have a more profound effect on so relationships either sexual or within a family is very important. According to Tindall and Manthorpe [11] the stigma of mental health means that families can feel isolated and embarrassed about the resent diagnosis of dementia, from this the assumption could be made that if a person is embarrassed they could possibly not seek help which then could cause stress and anxiety within their relationship. Due to the change in the relationship help is needed such as counselling which could help to relive distress within the family (early onset dementias). In Bentham and La Fontaine [9] it states that family therapy could also be a solution for problems caused within the family. Another issue that arises from dementia is performing the families'roles [12] which also fit into the life course theory and normalisation theory explained previously in this article. There is also the pressure of possible generic links within the family, according to Bentham and la Fontaine [9] it suggests that liaisons and family counselling could help with the complications that can arise though possible inherited disorders. It is important to also consider that friendships are lost through the difficulty of coping and caring for someone with early onset dementia so the feeling of isolation exacerbated [12].

Children are very vulnerable therefore diversely affected by people living with dementia such as feeling scared and confused by the changing personality traits and deterioration of the condition [11]. According to Vliet et al. [10] children especially adolescence came into conflict with the person living with dementia due to misunderstanding and aggravation. In Tindall and Manthorpe [11] it also mentions that the persons living with dementia may have parents that are alive, the difficulty for the parents to see their child living with this condition is an important consideration.

Maintaining sexual relationships can be an issue, in Harris and Keady [12] it states that people living with dementia find it hard to be attractive when it is so hard to conduct simple everyday tasks, this puts pressure on a person's self worth and relationships with their partner. Another problem within sexual relationships is that people are reluctant to ask for support which is needed when the symptom of dementia start to rise [12] . A common difficulty is that as the condition progresses the person with dementia forgets their partner [6], this poses the question of what also they might forget for example sexuality, it is stated in Harris and Keady [12] that this is a fairly researched area and a subject of its own. Another issue that arises from developing early onset dementia is that the person generally loses empathy and finds it hard to socially interact [10] this could cause problems in relationships due to possibly not responding to help when needed as stated in Vliet et al. [10].

It is also mentioned the needs of carers and families that care for people with dementia, due to the difficulties this portrays people commonly suffer from depression and anxiety [9]. This issue shows that there is a need for respite care but if as mentioned previously there is a lack of age appropriate services there seems to be a conflict of interest of the service users needs verses the carer's needs.

A multidisciplinary approach and expertise in early onset dementia care

The need for multi disciplinary and inter disciplinary action is important in early onset dementia according to Ferran et al. [5] it allows accurate diagnosis of dementia and identifies it from similar conditions. It was also stated in a National Health Service Health Advisory Service report in 1997 the need for a multi disciplinary approach [13].

Chaston [8] a multi disciplinary team helps to hasten the diagnosis and the access to after care for people living with early onset dementia. As mentioned earlier in the review an early diagnosis is vital in early onset dementia to make the condition easier for the person involved, their families and carers [4]. Another view held is that a broader multi disciplinary approach should be used to explore the experience of a person living with early onset dementia which would help to develop a collaborative approach to assist in supporting someone through the diagnosis period [9] a possible question that could be asked is that if a multi disciplinary team was to undertake the diagnosis and support a person through the diagnosis would a lot of the issues relating to GP's inability to correctly diagnoses early onset dementia be solved.

In [8] it states that there is a need for a care pathway for people living with early onset dementia, it is also mentioned that there is an overall lack of awareness and training to create a successful pathway for this condition. The Alzheimer’s society and Dementia North have campaigned to make a clear pathway to support people with early onset dementia, it has also been noted that due to a person living with early onset having unique needs a multi disciplinary team would be the most successful. The need for clinical leaders and multi disciplinary approaches are vital in early onset dementia, in Bentham and la Fontaine [9] it states that there is the need for strong clinical leadership within well motivated and specialist teams that have reserved clinical call time.

There is a need for expertise in early onset dementia to offer better support people living with the condition for example according to Bentham and La Fontaine [5] in frontal temporal dementia there is a need for the knowledge of the biochemical and cognitive psychopathology of the condition. In Ferran et al. [5] it states that there is the need for more regional and sub regional expertises to coordinate and supplement pre existing services. According to Bentham and la Fontaine [9] people with early onset dementia require a skilled multi disciplinary team to help with the needs of a person living with dementia especially delivering psychosocial interventions which fits in with using counselling and group therapy to help with someone's self worth image as detailed previously in this study. In Beattie et al. [6] its states that services should be multi disciplinary and as such address the needs of the individual and not the category of people, this echoes the debate of age appropriate services verses need appropriate services detailed previously in this review.

Recommendations

According to [4,6,12] there is a major lack of research and literature in early onset dementia this is possibly due to the low prevalence of early onset dementia compared to late onset dementia. From my findings the need for faster diagnosis in early onset dementia has been stated and to reform the way diagnosis are conducted [3,4,6-9, 11,12].

There is also the need for a more successful multi disciplinary teams to work successfully within early onset dementia [3-9,11]. It is also a general consensus that most services for people with early onset dementia and their families is fairly inadequate especially as mentioned earlier in age appropriate services [12]. The study has also highlighted the need for more research to be done about early onset dementia especially according to Tindall and Manthorpe [11] .In the views of children in families that have a member living with early onset dementia. Another suggestion is that more studies compare age appropriate services verses need assessed services [4].

In Tindall and Manthorpe (11) it states that research has to collaborate with the medical field, it also mentions about communication between people with early onset dementia, their families and carers and health professionals such as nurses and social workers..

There is also possibly the need for reflection on the role of a GP in the diagnosis of early onset dementia through the consensus that diagnosis is not given sensitively enough [6,8,9] It is also noted that the opinion and voice of the person with early onset dementia is important in future literature and research [8]. According to Barber [13] current practices should e evaluated and through the survey the hope is that change may follow to help with the service provision for people living with early onset dementia.

Conclusion

In this study there have many themes discussed in detail which show how the needs of people living with early onset dementia can be meet. Age appropriate services is an issue that is common in the literature, it argues the need for age appropriate services verses need appropriate services. Accurate and timely diagnosis is also important due it possibly allowing people to cope with their condition more successfully and access services earlier [10]. due to people living with early onset dementia commonly being in working age employment and financial issues are profound so support is need to help with this need [4] Relationships are an important factor to consider in early onset dementia due to people being younger and possibly having families and partners .The last theme discussed in detail is the need for multi disciplinary approach and expertise in dementia care; this has explored previously fits into most of the other themes and helps to meet the needs stated such as multi disciplinary approaches reducing diagnosis time [5].

This survey has noted many unique need that represent them self in early onset dementia, it is widely accepted that there is a shortfall in services and support in this emerging and needy group of individuals [4,8-10,12] and through the identification of the need for further research one can only hope that ting may improve and influence change for the better in caring for people with early onset dementia.

To read more articles in Journal of Gerontology & Geriatric Medicine

Please Click on: https://juniperpublishers.com/oajggm/index.php

For more Open Access Journals in Juniper Publishers

Click on: https://juniperpublishers.com/journals.php

#Open Access Journal of Gerontology #Gerontology & Geriatric Medicine #juniper publishers review #geriatric research #Open Access Journal

[yourdlmatchmaker]

A (somewhat long) DL Matchmaker Request ~

If I’m remembering right, the beginning is appearance. Well, body wise I’m quite curvy. Thick thighs, slim waist, pretty big chest (^^;), and a some fat on my stomach. Pretty short for my age (5'3") and a bit overdeveloped. I have a chubby face with high cheekbones, I’m not kidding when I say my eyes change color. I swear on everything I own that my eyes will change from dark blue, icy blue, gray, and blue-green. (They’re more often than not blue-gray) I have shoulder length wavy hair that’s hella thick (practically a lion’s mane) and brown. Light freckles across the bridge of my nose and cheeks. My hands and feet are small while my nails grow crazy fast and long. (Body maintenance is high and tiring)

Next is personality? Alright, I’m crazy adaptive depending on who I’m with. I’m relatively social yet prefer to stay at home. A constant in my personality is sarcastic, open-minded, naive, perverted, and flirtatious (sometimes I don’t even notice I’m doing it ^^;). I hate to be alone and when I’m in small places or feel isolated my anxiety acts up. My friends say I’m naturally good at a lot of things while I usually don’t see it and that I seem somewhat fake because of how my personality changes when I’m around certain people. I hate serious conflict and I’ll usually solve it with a joke but if it pertains to me personally I’ll sometimes blow up or manipulate the other person into feeling guilty. (Then afterwords I feel guilty ^^;)

Then zodiac sign, which mine is an Aquarius. I’m actually pretty happy with that since it’s the least common sign to have. (With February being such a short month)

My hobbies include anything pertaining to art. I like singing (can’t play any instrument for crap), drawing, and writing. Reading is a huge part of my life. A lot of my family are either sport people or medical people so I feel a bit of pressure when I’m the only one interested in branching out into a career in literature.

Likes? Well, animals and nature is really interesting to me as well as space and books. Anything dealing with sci-fi, fantasy, or the supernatural draws me in. Speaking of the supernatural, I’m really big on legends and myths. I’m pretty superstitious too. Taking risks is always fun (adrenaline junky lmao) while I also really like anything to do with cooking. Anything color coordinated really satisfies me as well as history. I also am in love with traveling. Road trips, plane rides, you name it.

Dislikes are pretty easy, I really hate rules unless they’re my own. As well as alcohol and cigarettes due to some past/current issues. When people doubt me is something I hate as well as when people don’t believe me. Close minded or traditional people tend to avoid me and I avoid them because of how different we are. I like change, they don’t.

Then a fact about me? I’m a biter. Not even sexual biting, I just like to chew on things ^^; People, toys, whatever. Oh, my hair is a huge weakness too. Whenever someone pets me or plays with my hair, I turn into putty in their hands.

Sorry if this seemed unrealistic or odd, it’s just me. Thanks for reading ^^

Admin Abi~

Oh, please! Don’t think I’ll judge you in any way! I’m here to have fun with you~! In fact I love doing this because:

1) I’M OBSSESED WITH DL, so I want to contribute to the fandom any way I can and

2) Through your match ups I get to know at least a little about you guys/girls~ which is something I truly enjoy~!

Don’t feel like you’re causing me any trouble (you aren’t), I won’t believe you or I’ll judge: I WOULDN’T DARE!! We are all in this together~ Just enjoy your time here~!

(BTW I’m also very short for my age).

*finishing your match up*

Your romantic match is…

Kou!

Is a good thing you are able to adapt depending on who you are with, because Kou wouldn’t need to “modify” you to his liking. I bet you two started talking so you wouldn’t get bored. Surprisingly your personalities get along pretty well: you are both are social (but sometimes it turns tiring), you have an open-mind, flirtatious as hell and you both like to sing! At first he thought you were just “too perfect to be real”, he thought you were fake until he spent more time with you. I can imagine you two falling in love by accident as you both were flirting with one another and singing on a karaoke party~! Kou thinks your talent for arts is admirable (you are different to your family). Is a good thing you love traveling: Kou will bring you from time to time (or even all the time) to his tours! You’ll be able to spend more time with Kou, but also you’ll get to met new places!! VIP guest (he may even invite you to sing on stage!!). If you aren’t convinced about how you’ll get a long with Kou…Just so you know that Aquarius + Aquarius = the perfect realtionship (and the only one same sign relation that is able to work out just fine~), however be careful: Kou won’t let you get things your way when we talk about discussions~beware! You’re naïve nature makes Kou happy: this means he can tease you from time to time and your sarcasm will bring him a good laugh once in a while. When Kou is feeling romantic, he’ll pet your hair lovingly while telling you how a good kitten you’ve been~! Oh~did I forget to mention that that pervert mind of yours + your open-mind could bring more fun in private that you could ever imagine? Beware… because of what I’ve heard…Kou has a pet play kink~ (≖ ͜ʖ≖) (Plus points: you’ll never be more satisfied knowing your boyfriend is a vampire! A REAL VAMPIRE!! You’re dating a supernatural creature yourself!!).

Stay away from…

Reiji!

You made me very clear that close.minded and conservative people tend to avoid you and you do as well! This four-eyes is exactly what you would like to avoid at all costs~ He’s a lover of rules, conservatism and….besicallly is an old man. Reiji would work very hard in order to transform you into the perfect lady he thinks you should be! BORING!!! You would suffer because this old man won’t allow you to go out. It’s so frustrating: you’ll be monitorated 24/7 and trained by him without rest! He wouldn’t agree to anything you say or suggest to have “a little fun”. You’ll feel like drawning!!! How about Kou and you go have some fun together? It’ll be on me!

Hope you liked it!!! ∠( ᐛ 」∠)＿

#match up #match maker #kou #reiji #DL #submission

[putris-et-mulier]

so do you appporve the new arc of captain america, or you find it 'offensive"?

I agree with it, it makes perfect sense and I’m kind of disappointed in how so few people understand what they are trying to do

I’m not defending Marvel, I’m defending Nick Spencer. I believe wholeheartedly in his premise and I want him to get a chance to finish the story, whether he will do a good job or not remains to be seen.

It’s really convenient that everyone remembers when Captain America punched Nazis but not the multiple times he was a Nazi. Which even occurred when the creators were writing his book.

Captain America is not Jewish, he’s America. What he really represents is America as a nation and at his best has been used as a personification of America. He was punching Nazis before real American soldiers ever did and when we look back his creation, along with many others, encouraged Americans to actively take a place in World War II. He was a propaganda tool of social dissent. Sometimes the best way to tell his stories, to put them in perspective to its readers (which were not children, comic books are something everyone read regardless of age and gender and they were up until the Comics Code Authority) is to make him sympathize and work with Nazis. If your protagonist can’t understand something then neither will you and avoiding issues isn’t going to help anyone. If your protagonist doesn’t work things out to the core of the issue it’s a book in an ongoing series and I don’t want this world to get a sequel, I want to just wrap this one up with the best ending possible.

America just elected Trump as president. I could list a bunch of other things but that should sum everything up. In the last few years it’s become clear how infested our nation and government is with white supremacist eugenics and to all of us it seems like everyone who has any humanity left lost and a lot of us, a lot of marginalized groups, can see more clearly how close we are to becoming victims of World War III.

I get it, that’s why you don’t want Captain America to be a Nazi. He’s your unproblematic fave, if you ignore 90% of his cannon, and if he’s going to represent America then he damn sure represent what America was meant to be, what those white able-bodied racist social elites meant for it to be. 

I would be so disappointed if Marvel didn’t allow this pitch to go through. Captain America being a nice guy and punching out people you demonize is not going to teach you anything. And Americans have things to learn. As a nation we need to be taken to school.

It feels like everyone complaining about this has never read anything or has ever seen a movie or TV show or have any grasp on critical thinking… This is art. This is what art is meant to do. If art doesn’t make you mad or sad or furious it’s pointless and un-motivational, especially when it’s sociopolitical. If you aren’t mad enough about the way the world is enough to do something, you need something to put a fire under your ass. Nick Spencer might not be a good enough writer to take this on but we won’t know until he tries and people definitely need to tell this story in as many ways as possible.

Captain America is becoming a Nazi because America is a fascist country and the personification of American propaganda being a Nazi only makes sense. No one actually believes this is permanent, do they? Captain America is going to fix everything in the end and that’s the point. To show him not just grandstanding, as America is want to do, but to show Nazis as actual people with love and fears, they aren’t monsters.

It would be easier if they were monsters because we could eradicate them with no lingering guilt about mass murder. It would be easier if they were monsters because that would mean none of us can turn into one. That’s the lesson that needs to be learned.

Trump didn’t win the popular vote but he got a lot of votes and demonizing the people who voted for him isn’t going to solve anything. We are in this together, they are our neighbors and a part of our American family, even if we fucking hate them. Until everyone stops treating bigotry as a foreign object that can be taken on and off at will nothing is going to improve.

As a disabled person I’m relieved a story like this is being told and that they are pressing forward despite the backlash because a lot of the people complaining have time, but we don’t.

The Nazi party didn’t just spring out of nowhere with the power of political and social support to just get to work on concentration camps. It takes time.

Let’s ask the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum what the initial steps to the Holocaust were:

1. Nazi Germany sterilized 300,000 to 400,000 people under their Sterilization Law (1934) who targeted the “abnormal” (a.k.a., disabled people) as apposed to the “asocials” (non-aryan races) citizens2. The Marriage Law (1935) required all people to provide proof that they could not produce children with disabling heredity diseases3. 1939 Hitler made it legal to give disabled people “mercy deaths” by their physicians as the government saw fit4. Systematic killings of disabled people in government, church, and nursing homes were done under the secret operation called “Operation T4” in reference to Tiergartenstrasse 4.  Patients targeted were identified by a red cross on their papers (hilarious irony)5. In 1940 the preferred method of killing these patients became gas chambers. 70,273 victims were recorded between 1940 and 1941, 5,000 of these disabled people were also Jewish6. In 1941 Operation T-4 ended the killings went public with the slogan “useless eaters” to justify the murders7. It is estimated that between 200,000 and 250,000 people were murdered under Operation T-4

8. Many of the gas chambers used in the infamous Nazi camps were originally built for the T-4 victims and physicians trained through this operation went on to work at the camps and run the chambers.

These were social acceptable things that gained the Nazi party popularity and directly, and literally, created concentration camps. If you compare that time to what’s going on now it should be obvious why people like me have no patience for babying anyone.

Right now in North America more and more states/provinces are making assisted medical suicide legal and although it is still the disabled person’s choice whether or not to go through with it insurance companies are beginning to only cover the assisted suicide because it’s cheaper than covering all the costs it takes to be a disabled person. So disabled people are given the choice of slowly dying or just letting someone killed them now. To put it in perspective, it’s a very simple process that you do yourself at home by taking 9g of secobarbital or 10g of pentobarbital. Pentobarbital is disgusting so I doubt that will be the preferred poison but it would’ve been fun to be referred to as a P–10 patient, it’s more fun to say then S–9 patient.

So, given all that and the fact that there was a massive genocide of disabled people last year, a manifesto calling for our eradication and everything, in a first world country and no one talked about it, just like no one talked about any of these things, makes me pro Nazi Captain America. Fuck, it wasn’t even just a genocide, it was very efficiently done because of segregation, the names of the victims weren’t released because outing people as having disabled relatives, even freshly dead ones, would have been embarrassing to the families,  and tokens like flowers/candles/gifts from citizens weren’t allowed to even be put outside the facility on city property.

Give me Nazi Captain America.

I didn’t mention where the genocide happened or what it was named for a reason. If you guys reading this can  tell me off the top of your head at least what country it took place in I don’t give a shit what you think about Captain America being a Nazi. If America isn’t a place where people at least knew when one of our major allies had and honest to God genocide then that’s the Captain America they deserve.

If you’ve heard about Chechnya’s gay concentration camps but haven’t heard about this try thinking about why that is.

No one is learning from history so I hope to God at least a few people can learn through literature and art.

Boycott the company if you like, I’m actually glad people are because I believe boycotts are one of the most effective protests in a capitalist country so the more common the better, but don’t tell me Captain America isn’t a fucking Nazi.

#crowley-crow #abelism #actually disabled #disability #spoonie #Signal Boost™ disability #nazi #captain america #Nazi Captain America #racism #eugenics #world war ii #Genocide #Info

[paullassiterca]

Why the Media Went Crazy for Keto Crotch

“Your Meat-Heavy Diet Might Be Giving You ‘Keto Crotch,’” an article1 on munchies.vice.com announces, claiming “Doctors have confirmed that changing your diet can create new and interesting smells … down there.” “'Keto Crotch’ Might Be the Strongest Argument for Eating Carbs Yet,” Emily Alford reports on Jezebel.com.2

“'Keto Crotch Is the Seriously Smelly Side Effect of the Popular Diet,” the New York Post declares,3 and then goes on to confuse diabetic ketoacidosis — which causes bad breath — with nutritional ketosis achieved through a ketogenic diet. (The two have absolutely nothing to do with each other, as explained in my interview with Dorian Greenow and on ketogenic-diet-resource.com.4) 

Countless other mainstream and not-so-mainstream news sources suddenly carry similar headlines, warning people that going keto can cause stinky discharges that will render you a social outcast — and that eating high-sugar foods like fruit juices and whole grains is the answer to these offensive odors.

Remarkably, an online search for the term “keto crotch” on the day of this writing produces an astounding 2,060,000 results. The question is, where’s the proof to support this nonsense?

The Rise of 'Keto Crotch’

From what I can tell, the term “keto crotch” initially appeared on a reddit discussion board back in 2014,5 and again in 2016,6 and many of the articles now discussing this issue appear to be referring back to these brief anecdotes.

Since then, and up until February 24, 2019 — when Delish.com published Korin Miller’s article,7 “'Keto Crotch’ Might Be a Surprising Side Effect of a Low-Carb Diet,” republished that same day on Yahoo Finance with the more eye-catching headline, “'Keto Crotch’ Is the Most WTF Side Effect of Going on the Diet”8 — the term “keto crotch” was virtually nonexistent as far as I can tell, after digging through about a dozen search pages.

Miller, who appears to be one of the first journalists to use the catchphrase “keto crotch,” is a freelance journalist whose work has appeared in a number of health and women’s magazines.

She’s also an SEO consultant and founder of the SEO company keepUP Marketing9 that helps websites optimize their search results, and is the managing editor of the StyleCaster Media Group,10,11 a “leading digital media and technology platform for fashion, beauty and lifestyle.”12 With these qualifications, it would seem reasonable to assume she has the know-how to make a story go viral. The reason why is a question that has yet to be answered.

The story started spreading the very next day, and by February 28, keto crotch articles were “everywhere.” Yet not a single scientific study is brought forth in these articles, and a search of the medical literature turns up nothing. In fact, Miller’s February 24 article specifies there’s no medical evidence linking nutritional ketosis to foul-smelling private parts.

Who Are Some of the Health Experts Commenting on 'Keto Crotch’?

Articles do, however, cite several health care providers, among them registered dietitian and nutritionist Lisa DeFazio13 — whose commentary appeared in multiple news stories within 48 hours14 — gynecologist Dr. Lauren Streicher and dietitian Andrea Hardy.15

DeFazio offered a link to a 2009 study16 in the Journal of Nutrition when questioned by a Twitter follower about the basis for her concerns, which found bacterial vaginosis was most prevalent among women who had the highest dietary fat intakes.

Streicher’s comments, on the other hand, have been far more neutral, noting that dietary changes will temporarily alter the pH in the vaginal area in general, and that there’s no medical evidence linking the ketogenic diet with infections or other odor-causing vaginal ailments. Huffington Post writes:17

“'When I got the first call asking about this, I asked if they were making this up to write a story,' Lauren Streicher, medical director of the Northwestern Medicine Center for Sexual Medicine and Menopause and clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, told HuffPost with a laugh.

Streicher said that while it’s certainly possible that diet can have an impact on vaginal health, there is no scientific evidence to prove it, and myriad of potential causes for odor to exist.”

The problem with the study18 cited by DeFazio is that the women also had high carb intakes, and carbs are primary drivers of infection and yeast. According to the authors of the study:

“[T]he mean [energy intake] exceeded the recommended daily allowance for adult women. Also, the energy, fat, and carbohydrate intakes of the women were considerably higher than those reported in NHANES (1999–2000) for women of comparable age.”

In other words, it appears these women were eating a standard American diet high in both fats and carbs, so the results cannot be attributed to a high-fat, low-carb diet such as the ketogenic diet. Not surprisingly, DeFazio recommends eating carbs to lose weight and keep it off, saying “low carb diets don’t work long term.”19

DeFazio also welcomes media inquiries, stating she’s “available for all magazine, newspaper, radio, television and website interviews,” and “will accommodate you ASAP, even on short notice.”20 She’s also a talent with Taylor Talent Services,21 which specializes in “Helping brands, producers and marketers find the face of their products.”22

Ketogenic Experts Have Never Heard of 'Keto Crotch’

Ketogenic experts, on the other hand, myself included, have never heard of this complaint before now. In the video above, Dr. Ken Berry,23 a self-proclaimed “keto friendly” medical doctor, shares his views on the topic.

As noted by Berry, carbs are in fact the primary driver of yeast infections, vaginosis, bladder infections and similar ailments, and women who struggle with these conditions who switch to a low-carb diet universally improve. “There’s nothing about the ketogenic diet that’s going to make you have vaginitis or vaginosis,” he says. “It just makes no sense whatsoever.”

Kristie Sullivan, Ph.D.,24 who has been on a ketogenic diet since 2013, and has spent years coaching people on the ketogenic diet, shared similar views:25

“In nearly six years of following a strict low-carb diet, and interacting with literally hundreds of thousands via social media and my Facebook groups (over 250,000 people … ), I have interacted in nearly every discussion imaginable regarding personal health and low carb or keto. 

Not once has the issue of foul vaginal odor been part of that conversation. Bad breath or changes in body odor are not uncommon concerns, but those tend to be experienced early in the adaptation phase and are not long term or ongoing issues.”

Another ketogenic expert, Megan Ramos, CEO of Intensive Dietary Management in Toronto, Canada, said in an interview:26

“We’ve treated over 10,000 patients at this point. Approximately 65 percent of them are females. Not once did I have a woman bring up this issue with me.

As a matter of fact, we’re seeing the opposite: women have less and less yeast infections and bladder infections, in particular our diabetic patients who normalize their blood sugars, and who stop taking their SGLT2 inhibitors (which is a drug that makes people pee out sugar).”

Where Did Keto Crotch Story Come From?

Considering the complete lack of scientific evidence to support claims that nutritional ketosis can cause vaginal infections, one has to wonder where this story originated from. After all, some arbitrary anecdote simply won’t spread like wildfire for no reason, being picked up by major media simultaneously. Yet here are dozens of near-identical stories being featured in different magazines and news outlets on the same day.

Two individuals have stepped forward with an answer. In the video above, Berry explains how, when browsing through several women’s magazines in a bookstore that carried the keto crotch story, he noted a curious pattern. Each of them had full-page ads for Weight Watchers, whose stock prices, incidentally, have plummeted by 80 percent since July 2018 — a drop attributed by Weight Watchers to the mass adoption of the ketogenic diet.27 In his video commentary, Berry says:

“Rest assured … we see less and less things that could give you changes in odorous discharge when you eat keto. You don’t get more of that, you get much, much less …

So, I think keto crotch is just the latest myth [pushed by] the big publishing houses who get a lot of their ad dollars from Weight Watchers and Biggest Loser and Jenny Craig. They would love for you to stop eating keto …

[I]f they can scare you with the latest scare tactic, which is 'keto crotch,’ then they’re successful and they’re going to get more ad dollars from the big, carbohydrate pushing weight loss programs.”

John Zahorik, a self-described “nutrition explorer,”28 has taken his investigation a step further. In a series of Twitter posts (this thread reader29 offers the easiest to read view), Zahorik shows the links between Weight Watchers, its PR company Edelman,30 some of the primary health experts interviewed about keto crotch, as well as some of the authors of these nonsense articles, Shireen Khalil31 among them.

'Keto Crotch’ — A Secret Weight Watcher’s PR Stunt?

September, 2018, PR Week announced “Weight Watchers turns to Edelman to handle global consumer PR.”32 According to PR Week, “Weight Watchers wants to strengthen its reputation, better define and grow 'the Weight Watchers impact,’ and increase revenue to more than $2 billion by the end of 2020 …” Other clients of Edelman include pasta giant Barilla,33 and The Coca-Cola Company.34

According to screenshots taken by Zahorik, Khalil, Streicher and DeFazio are all Edelman PR followers on Twitter.35 While that certainly doesn’t prove they’re working together, it suggests collaboration is a possibility. He also reminds people about the reality that is “native advertising” — marketing designed to look like news.36 As reported by Conently.com in 2015:37

“Native advertising — articles paid for and/or written by a brand that live on a publisher’s site — has emerged as a powerful and popular new advertising tool over the past few years.

Media companies like BuzzFeed, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Atlantic have all invested heavily in the creation and distribution of native advertisements on behalf of brands, with many charging over $100,000 for a native advertising campaign.”

Indeed, PR companies not only create recognizable ads and native advertising (ads not recognized as such), they also do news placement on behalf of their clients. In many cases, such news stories will feature actual science that happens to benefit the client’s position.

In this case, however, the “news” is anything but. It’s pure fabrication, and appears to be aimed at implanting a highly memorable mnemonic device38 into the public consciousness. After seeing the term “keto crotch” hundreds of times, you’d be hard-pressed to not instantaneously think of a stinky crotch every time you hear “ketogenic diet.”

Already, people have made comments on social media saying the mere possibility of this malodorous condition has dissuaded them from going keto, and there’s little doubt this is the exact aim of this fake news campaign.

Zahorik points out the Edelman firm is in fact a master at creating these kinds of viral campaigns, a key part of which is “Leveraging top-tier influencers to integrate a brand’s key messaging directly into the content target audiences are consuming” (per tweet from Edelman39).

“The thing that made this campaign different from typical 'branding’ efforts is that this was a SECRET effort to DESTROY the brand of the COMPETITION,” Zahorik writes.40“What was the source of this alliterative affliction in these 'articles’? Answer: People on the internet were talking!”

Big Business Is Clearly Afraid of Keto Success

While the evidence implicating Edelman and Weight Watchers in the creation of this “keto crotch” myth is still circumstantial, the timing sure seems suspiciously convenient. The very same day the keto crotch myth exploded on the internet (February 28), CNN Business reported on Weight Watchers’ financial demise, stating:41

 "CEO Mindy Grossman attributed the problem to the keto diet, a popular eating regimen that makes bread and other carbs taboo. She said during a call with analysts … that keto is 'becoming a cultural meme’ and she even called it a 'keto surge.’“

Let’s face it, the media is owned by industry, and leveraging of social media influencers can make fake news and unsubstantiated claims like this spread like wildfire. While there’s no evidence to support this obnoxious story, there’s an incredible amount of published literature showing the health benefits of a ketogenic diet.

For example, ketones have a biological impact similar to that of fasting,42 including accelerated autophagy and mitophagy, improved glucose metabolism, reduced inflammation, clearing out malfunctioning immune cells,43 and reduced IGF-1 (one of the factors that regulate growth pathways and growth genes and is a major player in accelerated aging and cellular/intracellular regeneration and rejuvenation).

Ketogenic Diet Basics

I strongly believe adopting a cyclical ketogenic diet — which means after you have achieved metabolic flexibility, you cycle in and out of eating foods high in healthy fats, with moderate protein and low net carbs (think nonfiber carbs) — can benefit most people. It’s very effective for weight loss, and as discussed earlier, works with your body in such a way as to improve regeneration and renewal.

Maintaining net carb (total carbs minus fiber) intake at or below 50 grams allows you to enter into nutritional ketosis (the metabolic state associated with an increased production of ketones in your liver, which is the biological reflection of being able to burn fat). However, we are all different in how we respond to foods, so expect this amount to vary from person to person.

Some people can be in a full fat-burning state with full ketosis at a level of nonfiber carbs that’s higher than 50 grams, sometimes even as high as 70 or 80 grams. However, if you’re insulin resistant or have Type 2 diabetes, you may need to limit your net carbs to as little as 20 or 30 grams per day.

To find your personal carb target, it’s important to measure not just your blood glucose but also your ketones. One of the most accurate and least expensive ketone measuring devices on the market right now is Keto Mojo. This will give you an objective measure of whether or not you’re truly in ketosis, rather than just relying on counting the grams of carbohydrates you consume.

Using a nutrient tracker will radically improve your ability to understand your ketogenic diet nutrient targets and assess the nutrient value of your food choices. There are a number of trackers available, but my first choice is Cronometer.com/Mercola. That’s my revision of the basic Cronometer tracker, and it’s already set to default to macronutrient levels that will support nutritional ketosis.

Once you’ve confirmed that you’re in ketosis, start the cycling procedure described earlier, where you add in higher net carbs and protein once or twice a week, ideally on days you’re strength training. Intermittent fasting works very well with a ketogenic diet as well, and can further speed up and optimize your results. You can learn more about the benefits of a ketogenic diet from my books, ”Fat for Fuel,“ and ”Ketofast.“

>>>>> Click Here <<<<<

from Articles http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2019/03/18/keto-crotch.aspx source https://niapurenaturecom.tumblr.com/post/183534844866

[oxfordeliterp]

CONGRATULATIONS, YANI!

You have been accepted to play the role of AIDEN STAFFORD with the faceclaim of ALFRED ENOCH. Please create your account and send it to the main in the next 24 hours. We have nothing but words of praise about everything you’ve managed to do with this application. Not only is your writing a beauty, but you understand the complexity of Aiden just the way we hoped an applicant would one day get his character. Everything, from the family dynamic to every inch of personality you’ve drawn with your words, makes it clear that you took him and made him yours being howsoever faithful to every detail of the biography. We are counting the seconds until we can read more and see your boy on the dashboard, for you won us both over, not only with good character portrayal and writing talent, but also a great taste in music.

OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION

Name and pronouns: Yani

Age: 25

Time-zone: CST

Activity level: 7/10 I currently work in retail and I just completed my finals for the semester so I have some free time and should through out the summer. Whoop whoop

Triggers: None

IN CHARACTER INFORMATION

Desired character: Aiden Stafford, I chose to audition for him because he was honestly a character that made me excited to get into character building again. I’ve been out of the rpc for a while and nothing held my interest as his biography did. I love his passion for his craft, how effortless it is for him to bring words together. How he beats to his own drum and yet how he is so aware and attentive to the world and people around him. But there was the twist that stayed with me and now I can’t not want to know how this tragedy is affecting him day to day. Thinking of how his mind works is just exciting to me.

Gender and pronouns of the character: Male, he/him

Changes: Not a thing.

Traits:

OCDish - For his writing purpose, he has rituals he abides too. Not that he heavily relies on them to get the creative juices flowing but he finds it eases his anxieties. When life becomes a bit more frustrating, or his inner voices start to become overwhelming, the rituals make their grand appearance to steady him and make him feel in control again.

Uninhibited - Perhaps his craft has made him this ways. He’s a rambler if you allow him. Speaking his thoughts and desires freely, you can definitely say he’s an open book or just passionate about life.

Observant - With people in general. Most people can walk into a room full of strangers and not notice the smallest things, the mannerisms. He can and will remember them. It amuses him and he even takes it as a game just for himself. So it may make him appear a bit weird when he attempts to explain it to others, but nevertheless he doesn’t care.

Careless - In the start he found this to be a good trait to have. In some degree you had to be careless to enjoy life and not spend so much time worrying about another’s opinion, until that night that changed him forever. Being too careless has devastating effects, so now he struggles with this.

Gentle - No matter where the digs or insults are coming from. From the members of the Riot Club or the other, he will remain gentle and kind as he sees no point changing himself to fit in. He believes,“Always be kinder than necessary. What goes around comes around. No one has ever made themselves strong by showing how small someone else is.”

Extras: It is advised that you mention here what major you believe your character would have chosen. Other than that, feel free to include here anything you think is relevant when it comes to how you see the character you are applying for. Headcanons, playlists, inspirational quotes, anything at all.

Major: Creative Writing with a minor in Linguistics

Headcanons (1) Aiden keeps a journal. It could be seen as his lifeline, or a sure way to keep his sanity intact. He uses it daily and hides it away so others can not spy on his deepest inner thoughts. While if anyone did find it, they probably would not understand a single word inside, because of it’s illegible writing. There are no complete thoughts, just outburst of his thoughts about life, his classmates, and his fears. Only a true dedicated person would be able to piece together that puzzle of his journal. Inside are so many of his unfinished short stories, those few failed poems he knows he will complete one day, he’s just missing something to complete it. (2) He’s quite inexperienced with love and intimacy. Aiden is not a stranger to the art of attraction. He just hasn’t found anyone that makes his heart skip a beat, that makes the words in head settle, and that is what he searches for. Well - not really searching but waits until he comes across it. Their gender is also something he’s not too worried of either. (3) Fluent in Italian and French. As he writes, of course he had to be a great reader of literature, it fuels his writings at times. And what excites him even more is reading tales from other places in other languages. Words really do evoke emotions, he believes. Those sad, tragedies also inspire him and there is something about the change in tongue that makes it all more precious, like a secret that is now revealed to him. (4) Plays the piano and cello. Lover of the classical music. As pen and paper is effortless to him so is his love and play of the cello. Starting young he would isolate himself just to hear the sounds of the cello or piano. The classical music he plays has always inspired him and is so brilliant in telling a story. Sometimes to shut the world out, it can be his only friend.

Mini Playlist [x, x, x, x, x, x]

Quotes [x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x]

PARA SAMPLE

/Check and mate/

Out of the three hundred and sixty-five days, on the three hundred and fifty-ninth day the Stafford family would come together under one roof. It was not your typical celebration for the birth of Jesus. Or the coming of a new year, but it was a perfect time to come together and throw in each other’s faces their yearly accomplishments. All powerful in their own right, the doctors, lawyers, and judges all had to let their voice be known at the Stafford estate for their annual engagement. How dreadful Aiden found them. Another year, another dinner where he sat across from Gwendolyn. The two exchanged looks throughout. Her specialty, cold hard glares, and his was nothing more than a half smile that showcased the dimple in his right cheek. It was pleasant enough, pleasant as it could be for the two of them.

After his uncle Dwight, it would be his turn to speak and let everyone know what he was up to in the past year and what he would be doing well into the next. He could already hear the sighs of disbelief and even picture the looks of pity that would be cast his way. Another year and he still was not going to take the advice from his father and try for law school.

“Oh how lovely, it’s time for another drink. Someone wake me up when he is done..” Gwendolyn spoke, referring to Aiden as all eyes now fell upon him. The grand dinning room was quiet, and all Aiden could focus on was the devious smirk Gwendolyn wore. A few attempted to save face by pretending to shun her for her kind words to Aiden but it did not make her sorry in the least. “What am I suppose to do? He’s so boring and painfully so?” She did not hide her disdain for him. Giving a little bow to everyone at the table, including Gwendolyn, he began. “I know I could never outshine, —I mean how can I keep up with uncle Dwight and his political triumphs.” By triumphs he meant how much more corporate money could he put in his pocket. Another year another speech of how Dwight nailed it at the DNC and was well on his way to securing a seat on the senate if he just played his cards right. “And no I won’t be joining our cousin on her amazing mission trip to South America or be in attendance for her speeches on the importance of clean water.” Yet everyone knew she only did so for the optics. Her husband was under criminal investigation for insider trading at his firm.

They all knew the truth, and no one dared to speak it. Sharing the truth wasn’t the purpose for these gatherings. “I just started working with a juniors writing group that focuses on helping young writers work on their craft. What inspires them to write and we try to help them reach their full potential.” Aiden was actually passionate about this group and wanted to share his excitement. But he could see the look on his father’s face, the disappointment that no it was not an announcement of his change to law or even interest in medical school. “I mean just last week we did this great piece on Francesco Petrarca and what inspir–”

“Teaching our youth on how to be boring and weird like you Aiden, what a brilliant brilliant plan that is. Exactly what we need?” Gwendolyn cut him off, and made the slow gesture to clap aloud, and no one stopped her. Aiden politely acknowledged her enthusiasm and turned to her. “Oh you would have loved it Gwendolyn, the topics the younger kids were coming up with. It was empowering, talks of equality, and being heard by their peers.” He could see the wheels of annoyance turning in her head since he did not take the obvious bait, and he would not sink to her level. “I think you should come speak to the younger girls. I know you have much more insight on the topics that inspire them and you have a way with words that I can’t touch upon.” Awaiting her answer, as he heard someone utter the brilliance of such an idea. Taking his seat again, he watched as a server placed the final dish before him. As he thanked them, picking up his fork to start at the apple pie. He paid no mind to Gwendolyn as the next person beside him stood to speak on their accomplishments. These dinners were not all bad when he thought about it, apple pie was his favourite.

#aiden stafford #accepted