Oh Television....

I haven't really watched television in about a year. I will watch programs, but usually online after they have aired, or I'll download things as needed, or sometimes Jim will invest in purchasing an entire finished series on DVD.

This evening, I'm not feeling very well. I decided I need to take things easy, so I've turned off my brain and turned on the TV for the first time in a LONG time. I was almost instantly annoyed, enraged, and completely blown away with the hillarity of advertisements, news, propaganda, and the absolute parody media has become.

In keeping with current trends, all of the headlining stories (on four channels) was the rush for the H1N1 vaccine. Right now, it is only being made available to a limitted population ("high risk" people including children under 5, people over 65, and people who are otherwise immunocompromised) in a very small number of clinics (two in all of Toronto). Most of the broadcasts went on and on about the extremely long lines, the panic many people are experiencing over not being allowed to have the shot yet or being unable to get it because of the long lines... There were a great number of interviews with seemingly healthy people who felt entitled to the shot because their kids are little (which makes sense), or simply because they were terrified of getting the flu. There were many close-ups of people waiting in line wearing face masks and clutching platic purel bottles.

The newscasters went on to explain the symptoms of H1N1: the exact same symptoms of the regular flu, but can sometimes include diarrhoea. Sometimes. The difference is that actually H1N1 symptoms tend to be milder. It does tend to last longer, but generally only because since sick individuals only stay home from work if they feel really really terrible, and "swine flu" doesn't make a person feel as bad.

Immediately following this broadcast came a news story about a bakery giving free classes to families with children on baking cupcakes and cookies. The subsequent commercial break/sponsorship announcement was from Pizza Pizza. Most of the actual commercials during this (and most other) break(s) were for fast food, sugary treats, and, unsurprisingly, cold medication.

Don 't misunderstand; there is hardly any bigger fan of pizza and cupcakes than I. However, I have never been a fan of vaccinations and have never felt compelled to get them. I fully agree with the adage about an ounce of prevention. Healthy, plant-based diet and moderate exercise are good pillars toward maintaining good health in the face of encroaching illness.

What a lot of people don't recognize is that sugar is an immunosuppressant. Every teaspoon of sugar reduces the body's killer T-cell count by about half. Ever notice that most "cold and flu seasons" immediately follow Hallowe'en, Christmas, and Valentine's Day?

The H1N1 vaccine is currently untried, untested, and it is not yet known exactly how safe it is or what side effects may occur. The illness itself is pandemic (simply meaning easily contageous), but less severe than the average "regular" flu. Yes, it has claimed lives; the regular flu's number is much higher. Higher still are heart disease, cancers of all types, car accidents... the vaccine is being marketted by Big Pharma as the best prevention; I vehemently disagree. Yes, the idea of the vaccine is fine, and there are some who may benefit from it (little kids, the elderly, the immunocompromised) if proven safe and effective. However, as with taking any unproven medication, it carries the risk of being more dangerous than the virus itself. Should you decide that it is correct for you, please keep in this in mind.

As for me, I have an immune system. While I might not feel at my best tonight, I know I need a little rest, tonnes of liquid, lots of veggies, and a little faith in my own body's ability to handle intruders. Good luck out there!

Retrospective: Venice: Day 1

We arrived in Venice (flight attendant in Philadelphia pronouced it Venus and we giggled) at 8:30am local time (or 2:30am body-time). We cabbed from the airport to the bridge that leads to the island, then walked for a good distance and got a little lost before finding our lodgings. Here we are letting our parents know, photographically, that we have landed:
We were about 2 hours early for check-in. Our hotel manager/owner, however, was possibly the NICEST MAN EVER. He took our bags from us, told us he'd watch them and to go have some fun. So we bounced out the door and into the city in search of some food. Jim had his first real italian pizza experience. We managed to wander about for a bit before becoming too tired to carry on. Once check-in time arrived, we headed to our temporary home in search of a nap.
Re-energized we venture out for coffee (or espresso to be specific. Coffee doesn't really seem to exist in most european countries). We found a cute cafe beside the Music Hall called Cafe del Doge and had possibly the greatest espresso experience of my life.
Not really knowing what to do with ourselves, we bought Opera tickets for the evening then set to exploring the city. We immediately found Piazza San Marco, named so for the GIANT church (chiesa) devoted to St. Mark. Here is but a small portion of the overly huge Cathedral.
Within the square are also found a clock tower, many little kiosks and shops, restaurants and, my absolute favourite, the zodiac clock.
In fact, throughout the city, interspersed with all the Catholic iconography, is tonnes and piles of pagan idolotry and occult symbology. The tiny island city literally pulses with magic.

We crossed a great number of bridges (pontes) and remarked at the number of stairs and how the entire city is not very handi-capable. Not a ramp to be found. We marvelled at the waterways, the entirely-pedestrian traffic (no cars or bicycles anywhere). We even saw a few gondola traffic jams.
We toyed with the idea of retiring to this tiny village. Imagine this is your back yard:
We danced, we romped, we went to the opera, had fabulous fish for dinner, and went to bed unconscienably late for jet lagged travellers, anxious to start our full day of fun the following morning.

Homecoming

We've returned.
I promise to give a good full recap of everything that went on once I'm recovered my Canadian Circadian (not to mention digestion). Fow now, a recap:

Venice was stunning. For such a little place, it held onto a LOT of stuff. There are so many churches and temples, nearly all of them Catholic, but there is also much occult and pagan imagery built into it that I felt right at home. My limitted Italian and Jim's NO Italian actually managed to get us pretty far; we ordered food correctly and didn't accidently end up with pork belly instead of a cheese sandwich or something. We always found the correct wine. I had to eat salmon quite a bit since I received a few sideways glances when I mentioned the word "vegetarian" in passing. (I had already checked Happycow.com... NO veggie restaurants in Venice). I didn't meet a meal I didn't like. We went everywhere, saw everything, got lost a few times, slept badly, drank a lot of espresso, walked much and had a ridiculous blast.

Paris... there isn't anything bad to say about Paris. Okay, one thing: it doesn't smell very good. And once we were denied entry into a nightclub for no obvious reason... wasn't full or anything.... but I digress. Once again, we did everything we could possibly think of. We did tourist things like museums, churches, various neighbourhoods and landmarks. We did non-tourist things like groceries, laundry, and tiny side-shops. We spent 11 days assimilating into a culture that was surprisingly close to our own. Our moderate french got us through most situations (except for the aforementioned club rejection), and a goodly number of customer service and serving staff spoke enough english to get us past any serious language/vocabulary blocks. We even found a cafe server who had visited Montreal and loved Canadians. On our last day, we found an American/British run juice bar where the staff was entirely english speaking (but spoke french to us upon our arrival) and gave us a good taste of clean eating after many dinners of baguette and cheese. Which is not to say anything negative about baguette and cheese! There was a patisserie on the corner near where we stayed with the happiest baker we have ever encountered. She loved her job, loved her life, dealt with our slurred drunken french (she was across the street from the local pub, Les Deux Singes) and did everything with a bounce in her step and smile on her face.

Now back at home I'm ready to hop into homeopathy and re-devote my life to moderation. I plan on doing everything with a smile on my face, a bounce in my step, loving what I do and how I do it.

Details to follow!