Friday's Food Find, Geeking Out about Growth Factors, and Amazing Amazon

Update on date night last Friday - I wore a spaghetti strap dress with my faux Fendis. It looked absolutely fantastic, in that effortlessly put together, casual sort of way, while still being polished and classy! I think the slippers are pretty glam, as far as sandals go! 

So anyway we went to a Vietnamese cafe that we saw on a blog, and the Bun Cha is the best one I've tried so far! The soup was identical to the very first one we had in Hanoi. Unfortunately I can't say the same of the noodles. Still, it was very delicious. I think that's going to be our default Bun Cha place from now on. For starters we had yam and pork rolls... delish! Altho to be fair I'm biased. I love yam rolls. 

And that's the bun cha platter for 2, with a honey, lime, chrysanthemum drink. 

**** From this point forward I'm going to be geeking out a little bit about skincare, 

so if that's not your thing, please feel free to exit... stage left. ****

And now, on to EGF in skincare. If you haven't heard of it, it stands for Epidermal Growth Factor and you can read about it on the INCI decoder website.

In a nutshell (taken off the INCI site) :- 

• Growth Factors are cellular signal molecules that can stimulate cell growth, proliferation, healing and/or differentiation. 
• There are lots of Growth Factors and EGF is just one of them. 
• It has pretty well-established wound healing and skin renewal properties.
• According to a 2012 study on a serum containing barley bioengineered epidermal growth factor, "clinical evaluations showed statistically significant improvement in the appearance of fine lines and rhytids, skin texture, pore size, and various dyschromatic conditions apparent within the first month of use, and continuing improvement trends for the duration of the study" (which was 3 months).

Be warned tho (also taken off the INCI site) :-

The first and biggest concern is that if EGF is so good at stimulating cell proliferation, how does it relate to cancer? Is the definition of cancer not "cells proliferating out of control"?  Most experts agree on this answer: EGF is mitogenic (= stimulates cell proliferation) but not mutagenic (= does not alter the cell to make it cancerous). If you do not have cancer, you will not get cancer from EGF. However, if you have cancerous cells, EGF will help them to spread, just like it helps healthy cells. So if you have a lot of moles, excessive UV exposure in the past, or if you have any of the skin cancer risk factors, we suggest you should think twice about using EGF products. The same is true if you have psoriasis, a skin disease related to the abnormal growth of epidermal skin cells. You do not want to add fuel to the fire with EGF. 

Other (less serious) concerns are if EGF can properly penetrate the skin (as it is a medium-sized, polar molecule, so a special delivery system is probably needed), if it can affect collagen synthesis (or just works on the surface plumping up only the upmost layers of the skin) and if it has beneficial effects at all when used in isolation versus when used in a "conditioned media" that contains lots of growth factors resembling the synergistic balance found in the skin. 

I don't think I'm a particularly high-risk candidate tho, so I decided to go ahead and get something I've had my eye on for a while. 

Haruharu Wonder Black Rice Hyaluronic Botanical 2GF Wonderful Ampoule

On the website where I usually get my Kbeauty stuff, the Haruharu 2GF Ampoule costs about US$60. Their official retail site lists it at the same price.  But on one skinfluencer's Youtube video she mentioned that it was way cheaper on Amazon. So I looked. Yup. US$20.90. But then I'd have to pay for shipping. Unless... 

So I went to look at the price on my own country's Amazon site - similar - and free shipping with minumum purchase. Right. Let's pick up something else that qualifies for the same shipping offer.

One Cerave product I've not seen in where-I-live is the Skin Renewing Eye Cream - which contains both peptides AND ceramides - two of the things I get excited about in skincare these days. (If you're wondering what else turns me on, I'm also loving anything-ferment, aka probiotics - which you can read about HERE - and of course, good ol' retinol. Oh, and AHAs.)  

Cerave Skin Renewing Eye Cream

While shopping I discovered two more items, from a brand that was new to me. Another Kbeauty oldie but goodie - Easydew. It boasts EGF in its entire range, but I'm assuming at these prices the concentration's gonna be pretty low.

Easydew EX DW-EGF Nutrition Ampoule Intensive Eye Care

(I don't know why it's so expensive on the US site, I bought it for US$8 on my local site. You should check out your local Amazon to compare prices, methinks.)

The green one I got is a firming anti-wrinkle formula, and there's also a pink version for brightening (dark circles anyone?) which is creamier and better suited for night time use. 

I'm also loving mists right now, cos the heat is stupid maddening. I have a bamboo one, a ceramide one, and a ceramide+peptide one on the way. BUT which mist-loving girl will say no to an EGF mist right? 

Easydew EGF Cream Glow Mist with Niacinamide, Panthenol, Peptides & Vegan Extracts, Intense Hydration for Dry & Dull Skin, Soothes and Strengthen Skin Barrier I Not Tested on Animals, Clean K-Beauty

I just love the descriptions on shopping sites, don't you? LOL. This one's got adenosine, peptides, niacinamide, and EGF! Plus a bunch of flower extracts that are supposed to be great anti-oxidants. I got mine for just under US$10. (The US site lists this as US$20 for a 2-pack so it's pretty much the same price, only you gotta buy 2.)

Anyway, so that's that... I'm going to wait patiently for the stuff to arrive :) 

Meanwhile, I'm off for a walk with the mama!

 

Labyrinthitis, Syncope, and Coping with Frequent Fainty Feelings

That first one is what I'm dealing with according to my boss. 

I had a facial yesterday at one of those in-and-out Korean facial places at the mall near me. It's got all the different attachments on a fancy machine operated by a therapist / beautician (I don't know what they're actually called) - one for scrubbing, one's an ultrasonic vibration thing, one blasts oxygen at you (I quite enjoyed that!) and one is a two headed ball massager with radio frequency waves to stimulate collagen production or something like that. 

How spacey is THAT!

It was zero trauma to the skin, and I walked out of it happy as a lark. 

I will still need to do a traditional facial if I wanna deal with whatever milia seeds pop up again, I currently don't have as many as when I went for the last facial at my aesthetic clinc. But perhaps this will do as a maintenance program cos I can't imagine have a week's downtime waiting for the spots to heal every month!

As I was in the queue waiting for my bus I began to feel faint. I waited a minute but it didn't go away and I remembered I had rushed out of the house without dinner.

So I got out of the queue, bought myself a sugary drink at a nearby stall and gulped it down. I wasn't sure if it was low BP or low glucose; in any case a sweetened beverage would sort both those problems out, at least in the short term. 

My bus came so I got on - I mean, I had to get home SOMEHOW right? - and I felt slightly better so I figured the quicker I got home, the better. 

But after a couple of stops I began to feel icky again so I started fidgeting. 

Why? To get the blood out of my legs and back into my head. This is something I'd been taught ages and ages ago. I could also do jumping jacks. But wrong time, wrong place. 

“Clench your gluteals, your quads and your calves to try and physically squeeze blood back up from your lower limbs.” ~Dr Boon Lim (from the article I linked below).

The other way, of course, is to lie down with my feet elevated. But I wasn't gonna do that in a public bus... and besides, I was getting off in 2 stops! 

Read this for more about vasovagal syncope - the reason I pass out so easily. Cutting out alcohol (yes, completely) has solved the problem where that trigger is concerned, but apparently "Hydration, heat, emotional state, infection and menstruation are all factors – and if several occur at the same time, there’s a higher likelihood of fainting." 

It HAS been hot, I haven't been drinking nearly enough fluids (as I would like to) and I haven't had chips in a few days (so, no salt there). Plus I generally don't use salt when I cook so I'm pretty sure my sodium intake is way lower than the average Jane. Increasing salt and water intake also keeps a person un-fainty. Another thing I'd been taught ages and ages ago. One increases blood pressure, the other increases blood volume - both useful things for keeping the blood in the brain. 

So anyway I get home and all is well. I check my glucose and it's normal for peak levels. I eat and get water down my hatch, shower and head for bed. 

This morning I was at breakfast with the godson - I made sure to eat something with carbs, protein and salt - a BBQ pork bun from the dim sum stand (Yes I know Gd Friday is a day of abstinence and all that but hello, fainty woman here...) - and had a Milo for added sugary measure. 

And after half an hour my head threatened to hit the floor again. So I walked home with the godson, took my BP and post-prandial glucose and everything was fine. Hmmm. Strange. 

I went to lie down and then the nausea hit. I texted the boss, told him briefly what was happening and he advised I pop a stemetil. So I did. I felt better after 10 mins. So I stuck a mask on (in case it was viral) and headed to his place to have class with his kids, after clearing it with him of course. He had them wear masks too, just in case it was viral LOL. 

When we were done he came to the piano room and after listening to all my symptoms at length pronounced - Viral Labyrinthitis. That's the first time I'd ever heard of it. Thank my sniffly nose he says. Googling brought this up - 

Labyrinthitis is an inner ear infection characterized by inflammation of the labyrinth. The labyrinth is the inner ear system responsible for your hearing and sense of balance. When your labyrinth or one of the nerves inside your labyrinth is inflamed or irritated, hearing and balance can be affected. This is because your brain tries to make sense of mismatched information between your healthy labyrinth or nerve and your infected one.

While labyrinthitis can affect people of all ages, the condition is most common in adults between the ages of 30 and 60. People assigned female at birth (AFAB) are twice as likely as people assigned male at birth (AMAB) to develop labyrinthitis. 

(Isn't that such a cute picture? For something that could potentially be very serious?!)

Also -  Having a cold or flu can trigger labyrinthitis. You also have a higher risk of developing labyrinthitis if you:

• Smoke.
• Are under a lot of stress.
• Drink a lot of alcohol.
• Are chronically tired.
• Have a history of allergies.

Labyrinthitis itself isn’t contagious. However, if you catch the common cold or a flu from someone else, it could trigger labyrinthitis.

He doesn't think my frequent ahems and other bugs is a post-Covid issue. He suspects everyone's immune system is compromised due to the lack of exposure to bad stuff while we were all masked up. He may have a point. I know [ I ] definitely feel LESS robust! 

Hopefully once my body has readjusted to all the germs it's taking in I'll be back to my usual self again.

Meanwhile, I've been having David Bowie on my mind all evening... 😄 (And if you didn't get that reference, you're too young!)

Enjoy today's chip pic - 

Everlane Anyone?

I've heard a ton about this brand - they say the leather shoes are well made, durable, comfortable, need no breaking in, and some of them, like this one which is made from Nappa leather, are super-duper soft and a godsend for people with fussy feet (like me... bunions and what not - and by what not I mean sensory hypersensitivity). 

I've been wanting a pair of multi-occasion/cheat shoes that can double up as something a little more dressy, but could also just as easily be worn with jeans or a denim skirt. Covered toes means if I'm wearing longer pants it could likely pass off (at least from the front) as proper shoes 😁 The grey is a great neutral too.

I don't like actual court shoes because the back tends to hurt - see 'Notch' in pic below. And also to retain the shape of the shoe the 'Counter' tends to be pretty stiff. And then my whole foot hurts and my bunions start to complain.

I swear, if there is one thing I miss dearly about my youth it's that I could strut around in 3-inch heels all day, everyday. The bunions didn't happen until a year plus after my decision to chuck the heels and switch to ballet flats. Here's why that was a bad idea!

Anyway, I do already have two pairs of heeled sandals but they're strappy and open-toed and neither of them would work with a formal outfit.

Thing is, I have great faith in this brand, having asked a couple of friends who have tried their shoes, and from hearing it being recommended on some of the fashion blogs I follow...  BUT I just want to get as many opinions as I can. 

Has anyone who reads here ever tried their shoes? If so, which one(s) did you get and how was the sizing for you? Did they run big or small, or were there any other issues? 

Do let me know. Much appreciated!

Have some thank-you soy crisps!

Cock WHAT Now? (and a happy new year!)

I will write soon and tell you about my lovely lidl day out! But I'm currently trying to finish up the chapter on diabetes and obesity and I came across this lovely bit of information. There's a thing called the Coxsackievirus. I kid not. And you pronounce it EXACTLY as you think you would.

Taken off the web from here - Coxsackievirus

What Are Coxsackievirus Infections?

Coxsackieviruses are part of the enterovirus family of viruses (which also includes polioviruses and hepatitis A virus) that can live in the human digestive tract.

The viruses can spread from person to person, usually on unwashed hands and surfaces contaminated by feces (poop), where they can live for several days.

In most cases, coxsackievirus infections cause mild flu-like symptoms and go away without treatment. But in some cases, they can lead to more serious infections.

What Are the Signs & Symptoms Coxsackievirus Infections?

Coxsackievirus (kok-sak-ee-VY-rus) can cause a wide variety of symptoms. About half of all kids with an infection have no symptoms. Others suddenly get a high fever, headache, and muscle aches, and some also develop a sore throat, belly discomfort, or nausea. A child with a coxsackievirus infection may simply feel hot but have no other symptoms. In most kids, the fever lasts about 3 days, then disappears.

Ok, I shall go back to completing my chapter. Meanwhile, Happy Cocksackie New Year to one and all!

And the Covid has Finally Got Me

I had a scratchy throat on Sunday night. I thought it might have been too many crispy snacks. 

By Monday night I started feeling feverish. After getting home from the council-member meeting where one of the assistants very kindly went ahead and wrote an appeal letter for my application to get a second live in caregiver, I sensed something was not right. My temp was up to 38.6°C and every muscle in my body was aching. 

Antigen test was negative. 

Tuesday morning I couldn't move. Took some paracetamol and serrazyme for the throat, went back to sleep, fever yoyo-ing up and down. Test still negative. Skipped work.

By Tuesday night the cough had set in. But bodyaches were gone. 

This morning my test finally came back positive. Throat is fine. Muscles are fine. No more fever. Just this annoying cough. 

I'm required to stay home for 3 days in isolation then after that once I test negative or after day 7 I'm free to leave the house again, whichever is sooner. 

Alright, Covid, you've won this round. And so, this is where it's at. 

I also came across this thing called the Adversity Quotient recently. I think I must be developing LOTS of it in recent years.

You can check out your Adversity Response Profile HERE 

QQ Texture

While describing the chewiness of the pear shaped dumplings in a response to Ronnie's comment, I explained the use of the 'word' QQ. 

Or simply, Q. Most of the time it's used in reference to desserts - specifically the boba ball things in bubble tea. And other sweet treats that have any kind of starchy chewy balls (usually) in them! (See pic at the end.)

Here's a NYT article that explains it SO much better than I did. 

In Italy, ‘Al Dente’ Is Prized. In Taiwan, It’s All About Food That’s ‘Q.’

Here are some snippets - 

It’s “Q.”

“It’s difficult to explain what Q means exactly,” said Liu Yen-ling, a manager at Chun Shui Tang, a popular teahouse chain that claims to have invented tapioca milk tea in Taiwan. “Basically it means springy, soft, elastic.”

Elsewhere in Asia, it is a familiar texture, though the term itself may not be used. Tteok-bokki, a Korean stir-fried rice cake, and mochi, a Japanese rice cake, for example, could also be considered Q. In Western cuisine, the texture is less commonly found, though one could describe foods like gummy bears and certain kinds of pasta as Q.

The origins of the term Q are unclear. Some say it comes from the Taiwanese Hokkien word k’iu. Say Q to an elderly Taiwanese, and chances are he or she will know the term. But no one can quite explain how and when the 17th letter of the English alphabet became shorthand for describing the texture of tapioca balls and gummy candies.

~~~~~~~~~

Have any of you heard of this bouncy chewy sticky texture being described as QQ ? 

This looks so good! 

The Sunday Roundup - Men are Weird, Fruit Cake Bake and Charity Tabs

What else did I do this week? I taught the far-away kids twice this week. They're the boss's kids. Usually when I see them he's still at work (I work half days and come home at lunch, and then on some afternoons, lessons). 

But since I had an extra class with them on a Saturday, he was home and upstairs in his study... halfway thru lessons he traipsed down to to the kitchen so he gave me a "hey" and semi wave as he walked across my line of sight. I gave him only the "hey" arm-raise back as I was mid-sentence, talking to the kid, but figured I would chat with him properly after. 

After lessons I headed up to his study to say Hi, and see to his plants (he wanted plants, I gave him plants, he plonked them in the master bathroom, and then said, come look at your plant babehs so I went and looked at them). Well, I looked at them the week before; the wife didn't have a problem. Admittedly she was out, but I did say when I brought the plants over that the boss said I should check if they needed watering so it's not news to her, I don't think. The littlest boy took me up to where they were, I watered one of them and texted her to let her know that I had done so. I also told her don't worry about the plants cos I would continue to check in on them when I come round for class, and that I was headed out now. She seemed fine. 

Anyway, all this was to say that it was pretty awkward. I don't think my boss knows how to interact with me OUTSIDE of where-we-work. I'm (and BIKSS is too) pretty certain that the wife being present has something to do with it. 

I think the bottom line is he is willing to go to extra lengths / make concessions for me (that's a story for another time) which he might not do for just anyone else. And I think he thinks if he were to be too friendly his wife might raise an eyebrow. 

And now I'm wondering if she's thinking "Who's this person who buys him supplements (he asks me to - I don't just feed him with pills or nothing) and has managed to worm herself into our home where she's earned the trust of our children, and is now privy to my bathroom and everything in it because my idiot husband has given her access so she can check on the / "her" plants?"

BIKSS says probably not. But who knows right? Men think funny. And overcompensate. And then they start looking suspicious. Which is funny cos that's what they wanted to avoid in the first place innit? 

Anyway. I'm probably NEVER going to go over on a Saturday again. I think it's just better for everyone all round. 

--------

I started baking my fruit cakes today. And aside from the lowcarb / keto versions I want to try, I'm actually already done with all the regular sugar ones. 

I was pleasantly surprised when I ripped open the foil loaf tins and found that a pack contained not 5 but 10 pieces. Guess the sales guy got that mixed up. So now I had 30 instead of 15. LOL. I only needed 10 but got an extra pack just in case. 

Then I realised that I had almost a full packet of brown sugar in my larder, which meant I now had extra sugar too, as I bought what I would need for the bake based on having zero existing stock. Hm. I might be able to bake more cakes without having to buy too much more stuff, what with the extra loaf tins. 

Now usually the batter I get at the end of a mix fills 3 tins, but for some reason today's mix gave me 4! Hah. So now I'm going to end up with extra loaves anyway, and won't need to go out and buy more stuff to bake extra cakes. 

I felt like I was on that hill where the 5 loaves and 2 fish ended up feeding the thousands. 

---------

I discovered a website called Tab for a Cause as I was listening to an old episode of Dear Hank and John (you can find it on most platforms where you get your others podcasts) which I find absolutely hilarious.

And yes, it does really give money to charities. It's all legit. And it costs you absolutely nothing. If you have the extension on your browser, each time you open a new tab you collect a heart. And then when you've got a good number of them, you can send your hearts to a charity and they get money from it. It really is that easy. 

You can read about its legitimacy on this reddit page. 

------

And I think that's pretty much all the rest-of-the-news from this side of the world. 

Have a good week ahead everyone. It's December. The year's almost over. And Covid is STILL raging on. Argh. For now we're still Omicron-free. But who knows how long THAT will last. We're supposed to be re-opening, slowly and cautiously, with groups of 5 being allowed to dine together (up from 2) but the PM has now announced that they're watching this stupid variant closely and further easing of restrictions may be delayed. Pfft. 

My mood pic today ~  (they sell these ornaments on Amazon, fyi)

Getting to Know Me

I shared this on social media and thought it would be fun to post it here too. 

I know some people did a meme (does this count as a meme?) recently around blogland, but if you feel like doing another... feel free to hop on for the ride. 

----------------

1. Who was the last TV personality you thought was HOT? 

Mae Martin on Feel Good.  Her body-type is exactly what I look for when I'm in girl-mode. (Also, I thought it was a good series - I can definitely identify with having manic mental episodes. I just binge watched both seasons this weekend.)

2. How do you feel right now?

I'm gonna go the physical route - I feel soft and flabby. Need. Exercise. Soon. 

AND ALSO - my upper body muscles are aching from balancing myself over Roger during yesterday's festivities... goes to show how deconditioned I am right now.

3. What have you discovered about yourself in the last year?

I've discovered I'm not a plant killer after all. I'm really happy about that. 

4. What's your favourite soda? 

I love Mountain Dew. If you had to have only one soda (yes yes I know, HFCS blah blah) for the rest of your life, what would it be? 

5. What's a local food that you really enjoy?

Of all the kinds of breads I've tried, I really like the soft buns with stuff in them that comes from our local bakeries best. I wonder if they have these types of buns in the Western world.

They come in both sweet and savoury options, and the most common are BBQ pork, hot dog sausage, tuna mayo, egg mayo, chicken pie filling, curry potato/chicken, while sweet ones tend to be red bean paste, coffee or vanilla or custard cream, or sometimes they're topped with peaches or other fruit like a tart, except instead of a tart crust it's a soft fluffy bun. Another very popular one is pizza bread. Basically it's any combo of sausage, capsicum, pineapple, cheese and tomato sauce on top of bread instead of pizza dough, and often found with mayo drizzled over the top!

Oh, wait. I just realised. They're really all just tarts, pies, danishes, pizzas and croissants that have all been swapped out for buns. Soft, fluffy, slightly sugar-glazed, shiny buns. Yum.

6. The one snack you will die without is - 

I really, REALLY love potato chips. Like really. But you already know this! 

My mood pic today ~ 

Teaching Notes - Tuesday Things - The Music Edition

It's been a week of music research for me. And there's still a little bit more to go... 

I'm compiling (and creating) some teaching notes / activity sheets / listening maps for a set of pieces that I've downloaded from a site called Making Music Fun.  

They have free resources for teachers and parents and music learners in the easy / beginner stage. But a bunch of music with no info / background is kinda useless imo. It makes learning to play the piano very one dimensional - all you do is play a piece, with no context, no history, no NOTHING! 

Anyway, while it's really tiring (and time consuming) I do enjoy scouring the web for a bunch of different sites before I pull what I think are interesting bits of information and stick them on a page for the kids. Sometimes it's just biographies, other times it's a word search or pictures or fill-in-the-blanks... I mix things up. 

Here are some interesting things I've come across this last week. I hope you enjoy reading a little bit about some of the history, background and strange tales that surround some of the more popular pieces that we hear today.

Let's go! If you like you can click on the videos to listen to the pieces while you read :)

(The title hyperlinks under the video thumbnails will take you to Youtube.)

1. "Tarantella, tarantula: one’s a lively folk dance and the other’s a fuzzy arachnid, but they are linked by a bizarre common history. Once upon a time, the lightning-fast footwork of the Italian pizzica tarantella was the symptom of a terrifying malady, supposedly caused by a spider bite. Read on to discover the dancing plague and musical cure of medieval southern Italy."

From Southern Italy’s centuries-long dancing mania

(Click the link to see all the slides.)

Tarantella in A Minor - Albert Pieczonka

2. The Pavane - and old (very very slow imo)  dance from the Renaissance. Wiki says it is "a sedate and dignified couple dance".  Yaaaawn.

Watch this and you'll agree. This is a dance I could do even with a busted knee.

Renaissance Dance Pavane

3. Arabesque - Adjective and Noun : French, from Italian arabesco Arabian in fashion, from arabo Arab, from Latin Arabus (Merriam-Webster)

In art, from Wiki

"The arabesque is a form of artistic decoration consisting of "surface decorations based on rhythmic linear patterns of scrolling and interlacing foliage, tendrils" or plain lines, often combined with other elements. Another definition is "Foliate ornament, used in the Islamic world, typically using leaves, derived from stylised half-palmettes, which were combined with spiralling stems"."

From The Clark

"In music, the term “arabesque” refers to a highly ornamental melody whose free unfolding expresses a slowing of time within the composition. Unlike the straight line, which is the most direct path from A to B, the curving movement of the arabesque creates an effect of circular phrases that conjure perpetual melodies." 

Debussy - Arabesque No. 1

Of course you can't think of Arabesque without thinking of Debussy! (At least I can't.)

And if dancing is more your thing, have a look at Arabesques and Art: Histories of a Position.

Can't be arsed? Ok, just look at this picture so the next time someone talks about an Arabesque in ballet, you'll know what they're talking about. 

There. Got it? Let's move on!

4. Theme songs on telly.

I'm going to just breeze thru these two - first, Masterpiece Theatre. Remember that? The theme you heard was Mouret's Rondeau from Première Suite de Symphonies. 

I love this Fanfare. It's so, um, fanfare-ish. There are a few versions, but I enjoy this organ / trumpet one the most. 

Jean-Joseph Mouret: Rondeau from "Sinfonie de Fanfares"

And the second TV theme is from Alfred Hitchcock Presents - yep. This one came from Gounod. Check it out -

GOUNOD "FUNERAL MARCH OF A MARIONETTE" 

WITH ANIMATION BY TOM SCOTT

From Wikipedia - 

"Gounod started to write a suite for piano called Suite burlesque. After completing this piece, Gounod abandoned the rest of the suite."

(This man had a plan! The best time to quit is while you're ahead, I say! LOL)

The storyline is given along with the piece - 

The following storyline underlies the "Funeral March of a Marionette":

• The Marionette has died in a duel.
• The funeral procession commences (D minor).
• A central section (D major) depicts the mourners taking refreshments before returning to the funeral march (D minor).

Additionally, inscriptions are found throughout the score as follows:

• La Marionnette est cassée!!! (The marionette is broken!!!)
• Murmure de regrets de la troupe (Murmurs of regret from the troupe)
• Le Cortège (The procession)
• Ici plusieurs des principaux personnages de la troupe s'arrêtent pour se rafraîchir (Here many of the principal personages stop for refreshments)
• Retour à la maison (Return to the house)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Aight, that's it from me. I hope you enjoyed some of that! I sure have learnt a whole lot this week. 

If you had a favourite, let me know in the comments! 

My mood pic today ~ 

6 Pack Toons

CLICK HERE for the article. Or just be mildly amused at these pics taken from the website.

 

Sciencey stuff on Sunday and some Updates

No, I'm not starting a new weekly thing. I just happen to have a collection of interesting (to me anyway) stuff I discovered this week listening to the SciShow Tangents podcast. 

So here they are - all the fun, funny, freaky stuff I've discovered over the last 7 days. 

No. 1 - There are tastebuds in your penis

(I'm not sure if you can access the article because sometimes I can and sometimes there's a pay wall, but in case you can't, here's an extract - )

We discovered that the male urethra and glans penis contained many taste bud-like structures similar to the morphological features of the taste buds of the tongue. ... These structures have neuron-like appendages at the apical ends of rose buds in the wall of the urethra and glans

Yes. You read that right. Apparently something about the sweet taste receptors in the male urethra adding to the pleasantness of the feeling of having a cum. 

No. 2 -  Rats like playing hide and seek

Brecht says several clues point to the former. When the rats find the researchers, for example, they execute what are known as “joy jumps” or freudensprung. “This is something that a lot of mammals do when they are having fun,” including rabbits, lambs, and people, Brecht says. In addition, the rats often scurry off to a new hiding place after being found, extending the game and postponing the reward of being petted.

Apparently they can giggle but at a frequency that we can't hear. And they weren't even rewarded with food. 

Seems in another test they found that rats rewarded with food tended to be able to do repetitive tasks for an extended period of time, without getting tired, seemingly, while rats that were rewarded with tickles and petting got tired after a while, indicating that they were more engaged and involved in the activity.

No. 3 - Soccer-playing robots is a real thing. And there's a league called Robocup.

RoboCup is an annual international robotics competition proposed and founded in 1996 by a group of university professors (including Hiroaki Kitano, Manuela M. Veloso, and Minoru Asada). The aim of the competition is to promote robotics and AI research by offering a publicly appealing – but formidable – challenge.

The name RoboCup is a contraction of the competition's full name, "Robot Soccer World Cup", but there are many other areas of competition such as "RoboCupRescue", "RoboCup@Home" and "RoboCupJunior". In 2019, the international competition was held in Sydney, Australia. Peter Stone is the current president of RoboCup, and has been since 2019.

(From wikipedia)

Enjoy this video - 

No. 4 - This week's True Facts by Zefrank is about Wild Pigs and features a slightly more off-colour narration than usual. Not that I'm complaining. Enjoy!

===========================

In other updates - 

On Thursday the sister pissed me off big time and said some stupid thing about how when I post stuff on FB she feels as if it's being done unto her because she's an empath, didn't I know and because I posted this - "She's so exhausting today, I just cannot" - she had a complete breakdown for the next 2 hours sitting in a corner and feeling suicidal. 

What?

I said first of all I didn't say who it was about. And there are enough idiots around me that I could have been talking about anyone. 

Secondly, by the time I had woken up from a nap I decided that I didn't want to leave the post up because I wanted to avoid people calling or texting me to ask how I was as I wasn't in the mood to respond to anyone. 

Third, if she knows it's not about her then what's all the crap about feeling suicidal and how does that involve me, cos here's a newsflash : I have mental issues too - she's not the only one with emotional or psychological shit to deal with. 

Her response was that if people saw my post they would think that I was a terrible daughter, and it would be shameful for my mum that I wrote that about her, and what would everyone think about me / us / the whole family that I couldn't do a simple thing like take care of my own mother after all the years she had spent taking care of me when I was a child. 

Hello what? 

I ignored her messages and deleted any new ones that came in as soon as they appeared on my phone. 

I had already said I wasn't in a place to have this discussion as I was having issues of my own. So I figured that was me setting boundaries and saying I don't want to talk to you anymore. Hence, swipe and delete. 

Actually after that it occurred to me that the only reason she thinks my friends would think this way is cos SHE thinks this way. Or HER friends think this way. And the fact that I don't just means that obviously I believe my friends to be way classier than she thinks hers are.  Cos my friends have been nothing but sympathetic and encouraging. 

=============================

We went to the beach again last Friday. Spent 5 hours out. Mum was happy. This time we brought a sheet and our caregiver (can I just call her Jessica?) and I sat on the ground under a tree while the mama sat in her wheelchair enjoying the breeze. She even got up and went to breakwater to check out the water lapping at the bottom of the stone structure. 

A picnic! That's a kiwi fruit cushion we bring along for extra wheelchair comfort for mum whenever we're out and about. She's sitting on another that looks like an orange slice - so it's not like I was depriving her of it or nothing. 

Looking up! I was lying on the ground. 

===================================

With some growing clusters here, the government has begun giving out DIY test kits to people who live near Covid HOTSPOTS! 

We collected ours this week, but since no one is ill and we hadn't actually BEEN to the locations where the Covid-positive people had been to, we're just holding on to the kits for now. 

It's good to know that there are ways to do self-checks before panicking and going to the hospital where there's probably a higher risk of transmission. 

If it's positive it means you could have had it at some point, or you may be having it now. In which case, go see a doc and get the PCR swab done. 

If it's negative, you're all good. Just stay home and feel free to self-medicate if it's just a minor cold etc. 

Seems simple enough. And it's better than nothing I suppose. 

===============================

I've been mad about making my own quinoa bowls. I do enjoy eating them, always have. Just never thought to make my own. But with dining-in taken OFF the menu, I decided this would be a good time to get going with prepping my own bowls. 

I took two of these to a friend's house for dinner last night. She was actually excited for me to get there cos she was hungry and looking forward to what she KNEW would be Fondles-approved. She's pre-diabetic and it's always a relief when I say I'm bringing dinner over cos then she doesn't have to think too hard about what she should or shouldn't be eating. 

That's quinoa with butter chicken made with inner fillet, omelettes with white fungus / mushrooms / artichoke truffle pesto, garlic stir-fred prawns with zucchini and spinach with a dash of vermouth. 

================================

And finally, my current favourite - HT African Autumn - a delicious citrusy roobois infusion. 

My mood pic today ~ 

Tuesday Toons - The English Edition

Here we go everyone. Enjoy! 

1) This was taken off Funny Jokes. For more fun stuff, visit their Funny English Words page.

2) I thought this was kinda sweet 

3) PROnouns must be really good what they do

4) Hahaha - I'd be pretty impressed if a guy did that to me.

5) I'm so totally guilty of this! (Probably why BIKSS sent it to me!)

6) Calvin rocks!

7) Oh if only it were that simple!

As always, let me know if you had a favourite. Have a good week everyone!

My mood pic today ~