Meditation Monday! A new series! Every Monday I will recommend a meditation (most likely guided meditation) that I have been enjoying.
This meditation is especially helpful when I feel all the self-doubt related to my work and creativity. Connecting back to the present moment is connecting with our creativity! There are no ideas too big or too crazy!
So Johnson & Johnson & the blood clots, how bad is it?
Johnson & Johnson takes up only 5% of the vaccination given to people so far, so even a pause on Johnson & Johnson likely won’t affect the vaccination rollout much.
The chance of getting blood clots from the J&J vaccine is somewhat equivalent to the chance of getting struck by lightning.
Johnson & Johnson is not a bad vaccine at all when we review what scientists hoped for a year ago. It is just the other two vaccines have set the bars too high.
The pause is to create time for doctors around the nation to become aware of the condition and develop proper treatment. The usual treatment for blood clotting might make things worse in this particular vaccination complication.
There might be more complication cases out there, but just a handful. It won’t be on a different magnitude.
We might need a booster in the future depends how variants play out in the future.
I first noticed the usage of the word ‘plantation’ from a UK food photographer I followed. I already found it strange and a little inconsiderate, but I thought she is from the UK so maybe there is less of a stigma.
Little did I know, the word ‘plantation’ is being widely used in the U.S food world, from whiskey to dessert to restaurant names. When I saw this podcast, I knew I need to listen to it and find out more.
The hosts put emphasize on learning why people would choose to use the world ‘plantation’ and what they want to accomplish with the word choice. It is less about forcing people to change their word choice. Hopefully curious questions would lead to some more awareness and more self education.
Almost all the white people who agreed to the interview talked about the plantation evokes warm and fuzzy feelings, the ideas of leisure, and plenty of food. This cultural image was manufactured in the 1930s in books, movies, and food advertisements when the Great Migration(a large number of Black people moved from the South to the North) happened. This marketing technique clearly sells and succeeds at selling for a long time proven by brands like ‘Aunt Jemima’ did not rebrand until very recently.
I especially loved the exchange between the host and a food historian. The host asked why he as a white male can spend 40+ years of his life not realizing that the word plantation has a negative connotation. The food historian asked where his ideas would be challenged anyways. It is not challenged in school. It is not challenged in society. If he is not particularly close to the African American community, he won’t have friends tell him otherwise about the plantation. It highlights the importance to have real history taught in school, discussed in society as well as have friends from different communities.
The show also emphasizes the importance of self-education and not relying on friends from marginalized communities to ‘hold our hands’ and teach us.
I absolutely loved the intersection of food, history, and American’s complicated past. Highly recommend!
Since most of us are going to get the COVID vaccines in the next few months, I started to wonder if the variants are going to make the vaccines less effective. Luckily scientists have been researching the same questions.
P.S: I am going to refer to the variants with their country name because I cannot remember their scientific name. I know it is not the best practice but I am conscious of it.
Vaccines are very effective against the UK and Brazil variants. They are less effective against the South African variant which is now found in 40+ countries. The good news is that vaccines can still make you less sick facing the South African variant.
In terms of what vaccinated people can do, you can definitely hug your vaccinated friends once you get the vaccination. Wearing your mask in public is still a good idea.
I cannot find to get my vaccine and I thoroughly enjoyed how this podcast makes hard science more approachable.