Batfort

Style reveals substance

Month: June 2018 (page 1 of 3)

The three-ringed circus of focus

I worked on a side-project tonight, when I perhaps I should have been working on another side project. (Which has an earlier self-imposed deadline.)

So many side projects. This blog is one, too.

I used to feel like I needed to only focus on one side project at a time. Do one thing at a time, focus on that one thing 100%, and somehow, succeed.  We are not made to multi-task, the news stories tell me, so if I’m going to be my best self, I must not multi-task.

And yet, every time I would try to set myself a side project and focus my energies around it, I would fail. My attention would invariably turn elsewhere.

I would get bored, people.

But here’s the thing: I’m not listening to that story anymore.

My favorite day jobs have been the ones that felt like a three-ringed circus, where there was constantly going on and my attention was split three (or even four) ways. Yes, that split attention made it difficult to track everything that went on, but it was way more interesting and engaging to have to be “on” in so many arenas at once.

My current day job is a one-ringed circus. Sure, I’m able to focus, but it’s also hard to keep interest. Most work is not super-captivating, so one way to keep it fresh is to constantly switch gears.

This approach can be applied to my side projects. Instead of trying to focus 100% on one of them, I can cultivate a three-ringed circus of side projects that work synergistically to keep me interested, motivated, and productive.

Perhaps my personal challenge is not to do away completely with chaos, but to find the control within the chaos.

I am a high-openness, low-agreeability woman, after all.

 

Image of the Week: …I was sick

Sometimes life just doesn’t quite go the way you plan. Other times, you get capitalize on the opportunity of taking sick leave instead of vacation time.

 

This week I spent most of my time napping and/or applying judicious amounts of steam to prevent whatever head cold I developed from turning into another round of pneumonia.

For reference, when I had pneumonia in the Spring of 2016 I was out of the game for months and my social life still hasn’t recovered. Fun times.

On the other hand, I’ve done a lot of thinking and writing and research, and am a few steps closer to building my plan for financial freedom. By which I mean “not depending on an employer for a paycheck.” I don’t mind working. I like working. But I would like to work for myself and my God and nobody else.

This blog is too much about me. I need to figure out how to spin it around and make it about Things, because we’re not here for me. We’re here for the truth.

A Second Look at the Strong Heroines of Alt-Hero

What do a chain-smoking French supermodel and a constantly-speeding Southern firecracker have in common? (Aside from the superpowers, of course.)

There will be spoilers in this post, if you’re still keeping track.

I realized belatedly that contrary to what one might expect from a racist sexist homophobic alt-right publisher like Arkhaven, the Alt-Hero series features a handful of very strong female characters.

In issue #2, Shiloh Summers is introduced peacefully washing her blue Mustang convertible wearing daisy dukes and a Confederate flag bikini top. She then proceeds to drop some red-headed, green-eyed Southern charm to get out of a speeding ticket, specifically aligns herself with Alabama (as a Pacific Northwesterner I really don’t get it, sorry) and speeds on her merry way–right into a trap laid for her by the Feds. Even though she raises “hayell” before getting caught, alas, somebody  has to get broken out of an armed facility, and that person is Shiloh.

Part of the rescue team is another badass female character, Ryu No Seishin, who delivers the immortal line “We’re here to rescue you.” Ryu can shoot flames from her fingertips and has amazing hair. I want to know more.

Back in issue #1, on the other hand, we meet Dominique Jeanneret through a pop and a clap of her powers facing off against the EU. A chain-smoking red-headed supermodel, she puts up a good fight against the regular-guy squad until she gets taken out by a punch square in the face from Captain Europa. And though she is wooed by the Global Justice Initiative, she knows how to negotiate and keeps her option to smoke, always.

Am I going crazy? Two redheads? This is not that big of a comic book franchise (yet), so how could there possibly be room for two such visually similar characters?

Ah, here we go: We have one redhead taken into custody in the EU, fed a pack of lies but offered a lucrative salary, who then unthinkingly joins the bad guys. The other redhead is taken into custody in the United States, but is instead broken out and joins the ragtag band of vigilantes who are, one presumes, fighting on the side of good.

A tale of two red-heads. Two ladies who are, in the core of their character design, offensive to someone, somewhere. Two ladies who are feisty, who can look after themselves, and who are fighting on opposite sides of the line. Mirror images.

If there’s a transatlantic showdown, I hope we get a cover of them facing off against each other.

My top 5 ways to fight bacteria

Now that I’m on the recovering end of this sickness, thanks to many of the methods that I’ll be talking about below, I thought I’d share my preferred methods of killing bacteria.

These methods work for acute sickness, like a cold, for local issues like a stye, or for long-term bacterial infestations (like if you have sinusitis like I did for pretty much ever).

Obviously, if things are getting too bad you’ll want to go to the doctor. There’s a point where your body gets overwhelmed trying to fight everything and you need the big guns of antibiotics. When I had pneumonia a couple of years ago, I used these types of treatments as adjuncts to antibiotic therapy.

Antibiotics are a last resort, tho, and if you’re new to the world of offroad medicine you may be surprised at how well these approaches work.

Grapefruit Seed Extract

My number 1 all time favorite of all time of the extracts/essential oils family is grapefruit seed extract. It is by far and away the most effective topical I’ve used, and that includes silver, garlic, and tea tree oil. The research on GSE is…sketchy…at best but speaking from personal experience, it works. Externally at least. Please note that I have not tried taking GSE internally, and as such I would not personally recommend it.

My ride-or-die is the NutriBiotic GSE Nasal Spray, which is now a permanent member of my medicine cabinet. I need it less now that my sinuses are starting to behave, but back when they were completely out of control, this spray was both good cop (hydrating) and bad cop (bacteria killing). I still use it regularly.

Another fave is the GSE Skin Ointment, which I alternate with Bacitracin Zinc ointment (see below) as each one wears off in effectiveness.

 

Rubbing Alcohol

Alcohol is the OG of bacteria killers. Rubbing alcohol is another staple of mine, which I discovered during the “hellacious painful boils” phase of conquering gut dysbiosis. I use it to clean beauty tools, to prep and clean areas of skin, to soak out areas of infection (like the bacteria colony in my left nostril) (no I’m serious).

This is a tip I got from my aunt who grows here own food and digs a new outhouse every year: when you feel a boil coming on, and can see the puffy pink skin starting to come to a head, soak a cotton ball in rubbing alcohol and use it to saturate the area for 10 minutes. I will not lie to you: this usually hurts. But it’s super-effective and will usually allow your immune system to take care of the boil without having to form a head (which is also painful).

I’ve noticed that every time you put alcohol on an area infested with bacteria, it will hurt–and this is regardless of if you have broken skin or not. You just have to roll with it.

The downside of using rubbing alcohol (topically only!) is that it’s drying. To prevent against further skin irritation, always follow up with lotion, or my preferred method of skin healing, Aquaphor.

Lately I’ve invested in alcohol prep wipes to clean my earrings each time I wear them (both before and after), which has literally changed my earring game. I thought I was going to have to let my ears heal over to get rid of all the bacteria, all I needed to do was up my earring hygiene protocol.

 

Hot Water

This is the sleeper method of fighting bacteria, because it always always ALWAYS feels like “how could this possibly do any good?” until you try it out. And yet, so effective. There are two main ways to deliver hot water therapy to yourself.

Steam

First of all, if you haven’t experienced the joys of the sauna, you need to do so ASAP. Just as a general health tip, the time you’ll spend in a sauna is time of joy and meditation and encouragement to yourself. Highly recommend.

But, not all of us have access to a good sauna. (I sadly moved away from my favorite sauna and haven’t found another good one.)

In times of need, such as upper respiratory infections, head colds, or sinus infections, turn to a great at home alternative: steaming your head. That’s what we call it in my family, at least. I like this method better than the Neti Pot.

Boil a pot of water on the stove. Any size will do, but a bigger pot with more water will hold heat for longer. Then, set up a station for yourself where you can bend over the pot without much fuss, like at a table or countertop. Grab a potholder or trivet to hold the pot, and a big towel. When the pot boils, turn off the stove and move it to your trivet. Drape the towel over your head and the pot. Breathe deeply, through your nose if you can. Stay here for a minimum of 10 minutes.

Keep a box of tissues at hand, because you might drip. And while I do not recommend taking a laptop under the towel with you, some sort of entertainment is essential. Try a podcast, or a talk on carnivory.

Hot Packs

Or hot compresses. Or as these may be called in the alt medicine field, “hot fomentations.”

Whatever you want to call them, they’re really easy to do. Boil some water, or if you’re lazy, run your tap for a very long time to get it super hot. Then, place a towel or washcloth in the stream to soak up all the heat and moisture. Wring out the towel, then place on your problem area. If you want to get super fancy, cover with another towel to keep in the heat.

(If you want to get even higher power levels, use a cloth that’s 50% cotton 50% wool.)

The hot water works to pull blood supply to an area of concern, thus providing more attention from your immune system. This works on pimples or boils, on lung problems like pneumonia (spread the towel over your back, or get someone else to do it for you), and even on sinus problems (mold a washcloth over your eyes and sinus cavities).

Seriously, I put a hot compress on my face last night and my sinuses feel so much better today.

Bacitracin Zinc

Sometimes, the natural methods just won’t cut it. For these times, you have bacitracin zinc ointment, which you can pick up at a local drugstore (probably). It can be a little hard to find, at least in my experience.

I like bacitracin zinc over triple antibiotic ointments because it has relatively few ingredients and really does get the job done.

It will stick in hard-to-reach places (the the aforementioned bacteria colony in my left nostril) and doesn’t cause skin irritation.

 

Hibiclens

And then there is the granddaddy of the at-home bacteria war: Hibiclens. I will know that I have finally won the war when I don’t need one of these in my shower.

If you have any kind of topical bacterial infestation, this is your best friend. Nothing like hospital-grade antibacterial wash to fight the good fight.

 

There you have it, my arsenal in the fight against bacteria! These guys have been with me in my struggles with SIBO (Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth) which turned into Everywhere Bacterial Overgrowth, pneumonia, boils, sinus infections, regular ol’ breakouts, infected eczema and more.

They work just as well on head colds and scraped knees, too, if you’re not fighting some huge bacterial war.

If you have another method that you use and love, let me know in the comments down below!

 


On the next episode of “Let’s fight bacteria together,” I’ll tell you the biggest lesson I’ve learned about eye makeup and bacterial infections.

The Reader: 6-26-18

Funny that I posted yesterday about having no energy when you’re sick, because today I’m sick. So instead of posting some incomprehensible and low-energy article, I’ll post all the open tabs in my browser.

 

Read

 

Unread

 

Not Reading Material

 

Weirdest Takeaway

Even bees should be eating more protein (fromThe Great Nutrient Collapse):

[The researchers] found that the protein content of goldenrod pollen has declined by a third since the industrial revolution—and the change closely tracks with the rise in CO2. Scientists have been trying to figure out why bee populations around the world have been in decline, which threatens many crops that rely on bees for pollination. Ziska’s paper suggested that a decline in protein prior to winter could be an additional factor making it hard for bees to survive other stressors.

Why don’t you do as you dream?

This image speaks to my inner six-year-old.

When you’re six, the world is full of possibilities and other people magically take care of the logistics–food, shelter, taxes–that you don’t even know about. Dreams are the entire world.

When you’re 16, and struggling to find a drug that will work to control your ravaging autoimmune illness, it’s less about dreams and more about living one day at a time.

When you’re 26 and the magic drug that you found allowed bacteria to start eating you alive, your dream is to get healthy and off meds–and even that dream seems completely impossible.

Once health is achieved, only then can you start to dream again. Really dream.

I won’t say that I didn’t dream when I was working on my health (because I did). I won’t even say that I tried to work towards those dreams during that time (because I also did). But those dreams didn’t go anywhere.

Why?

At this point, I would posit that it’s because all of my body’s energy was going toward keeping me alive and relatively functional. There were no reserves for extras like creativity. (Not the creative act–art is fun–but the creative germination. Bringing a new thing into existence.)

Tonight, for instance, I am so tired that I can barely think. My body has basically shut down, including my brain and my creative abilities. But I think about this time last week, when I was banging out words on my novel and making plans for the future.

For the first time in my adult life, my health is under control to the point where I don’t have to spend all my energy on managing it. (Thank you, carnivory.)

Looking back to see how far I’ve come underscores how much I tried. Oh how I tried, but I did not have the capacity to succeed. It simply wasn’t there. It wasn’t possible for me to sustain something bigger than me when I didn’t have the ability to sustain even myself.

Now, the objective is simple:

  1. Continue health gains
  2. Acquire more energy
  3. Dream
  4. Do as I dream

So for those of you who are struggling where I was a few years ago. Don’t despair. Keep dreaming. Do the work to get healthy. You can do it.

A very personal review of Alt-Hero #2: Rebel’s Cell

Back into the world of Arkhaven we go. As with issue #1, we pick back up with the recruitment of superheroes, but this time we have hopped the pond to the states. And topics are now highly relevant: one of our heroes is acting as a vigilante enforcer, ridding the world of MS13 and Antifa one gang at a time.

There are quite a few other triggers embedded in the story, too. You could play bingo with current events.

But the real story is the introduction of Rebel, our Southern Belle superhero. TBH, I’m not sure what her superpower is aside from being hot, flexible, and charming, but I trust that we’ll find out in the coming issues. I have a feeling that Rebel will become a major plot point.

Because this issue focused mainly on two superheroes instead of one, the plot felt a little more disjointed. Not bad enough to be an issue, but there was a lot of ground to cover in a short amount of time so don’t expect any hand-holding or elegant transitions.

Which leads me to my major logistical complaint: sometimes I’m still not sure which panel to read in what order, and sometimes panels seem to be jammed into the story without warning. There are a few rapid transitions and flashbacks in this issue that took me a few read-throughs to parse out. (Please note that I’m not a seasoned comics reader so your mileage may vary.)

However. The art is much improved in this issue. So much that I could see someone ripping out a page and hanging it in his wall (but somehow I suspect that is comic book sacrilege). I appreciate enjoyed the range and quality of the facial expressions, and the backgrounds. All those trees!

The coloring is also pretty great, especially the bits with light it fire in them.

Anyhow, this was a fun issue meeting many of the American heroes (including a 100% genuine American badass). Where issue #1 sucked me in with a compelling story, issue #2 presents a myriad of compelling characters.

It’s a nice balance, and I look forward to seeing how the story develops on both sides of the Atlantic.

And maybe the Pacific, based on that cliffhanger!

Please stand by

The writer of this blog did something really crazy this weekend which involves multiple time zone shifts, learning new things, and general capacity expansion.

My brain is fried, sorry folks.

See you tomorrow.

Image of the Week: Meme Parade

Debunked or not, this magazine cover will hover around our minds for quite some time.

Today I compiled a bunch of my favorite meme variants. The best of these are yet to come, I’m sure.

PS. It’s my 400th post today!

Melania doesn’t care, do u?

I’m coming to love Melania more and more.

She obviously doesn’t care for the spotlight as much as Trump does (#introvert), but when she’s in it, she kills it. Especially on the style front.

There hasn’t been this much controversy about what Melania wore since the media was obsessed with the fact that she wore stilettos (which she always wears) on a flight to Houston.

(That was only last August, in case you lost track. The Houston floods seem like a few years ago, at least.)

Most of the time she lets the clothes do the talking on their own, but this is not the first time she’s used words on clothes to explicitly state her message. In Houston, she wore a FLOTUS cap. I guess sometimes you really just need to let the message hit home.

I wonder who her stylist is, and how much fun they have planning these outfits.

The people we usually talk about online who use clothes to tell a story are actors and actresses, out to promote their latest movie. Stylish people of all walks of life also imbue some of that storytelling into what they wear.

I certainly do, in my own outfits, but it’s a language that only people who know me well would understand.

Melania has figured out how to go from the personal, internal narrative of style (“this dress makes me feel confident so I’ll wear to make a presentation at work”) to an social, external narrative of style (“this jacket tells the media to f##k off, so I’ll wear it while boarding the plane so they’ll be forced to stare at it”).

Of course, the media then tries their best to make it about the children at the boarder and not themselves, but deflection and obfuscation is what the media does best these days.

Conservatives are so often concerned with doing things right that they don’t realize that there are effective ways to be wrong. Same goes with clothing. They’re more concerned with looking “well-dressed” than with stating an effective message with style.

Roger Stone doesn’t fall into that trap. Neither do Trump or Melania or Milo. Peter Duke understands it.

Part of this is because conservatives aren’t as into the dress-up-and-take-pictures scene. But I think part of it is also because conservatives think that aesthetics don’t matter. Only principles.

This is simply not true. Aesthetics–edifice, artifice, surface–are the way in which we encounter the world every single day. We tell our kids stories about the wolf in sheep’s clothing, so that they can be aware of the fact that appearances don’t always match motives.

And yet, Trump can’t be president because he doesn’t look presidential.

 


This is a topic I’d like to explore more. I’d love to know what you think–what would you want to read about?

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