Daily Archives: May 20, 2020

COVID-19, Science/Nature

Good things happening in the world

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Image taken from: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/11/opinion/sunday/science-people-environment-earth.html

Coronavirus came to the U.S. in late January. The first confirmed case in the U.S. was on January 21st. Ever since, the news has been filled with new information about the virus. How to stay safe, how to prevent it, etc.

Along with the negativity, there have been many more positive things happening in both the environment and the world. 

Disneyland is donating excess food to food banks. Even though Disneyland closed temporarily due to the safety concerns, their oversupply of snacks will be donated to Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County. The food donated was dairy, fruit, and vegetables.

Walt Disney, and Disneyland resorts, have a continuing commitment to reducing any food waste. Each year they donate over 1.2 meals to their local Second Harvest Food Bank. There are also cast members volunteering to collect, sort, and distribute food donations. 

Specialists say that there is still hope in conserving marine life. Although the process will take three decades; it’s all due to human activity. According to Mongabay, 8 million tons of plastic pollute the ocean every year. If humans can pollute less, then the ocean could be fully re-established by 2050.

Humans can strive to help by attempting to decrease carbon emissions that accelerate climate change. While some parts of the ocean are easy to restore, some aren’t. For example the coral reefs. Coral reefs are bleaching because of climate change.

If the ocean is going to be saved, action must be taken within a short amount of time.

Oil companies are collapsing during these times but the wind and solar energy are the opposite of collapsing, they are growing. Industry executives and analysts expect renewable businesses to grow in 2020, while oil, coal, and gas companies struggle.

In California and Texas, for example, solar panels and wind turbines now produce more electricity, in a more economical way, than coal and natural gas. The good thing about solar and wind energy is that it’s sustainable and clean for humankind. 

While the world has been having a problem with polluted air and non-clear skies, during the time of self-quarantining and not leaving the house, carbon dioxide emissions have been reduced. According to VICE, air travel has dropped by over half in late March. Which accounts for 2.5% global carbon dioxide emissions. This is a good thing because when we do need to go outside for some fresh air or take a walk, we will smell pure and clean air. 

Advice/How To, COVID-19

Quarantine haircuts

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By: Vivian S

Image taken from: https://search.creativecommons.org/photos/9bc81117-e447-4b99-81c0-1e2f4d67bd3c

About a week ago, at the time of writing this, as the sun set over the horizon and the day wound to a halt, I walked upstairs with my mother. We stood in front of a mirror and she handed me a pair of scissors. Reaching out, I grabbed her hair, and carefully, I hacked through the mounds of tangled hair she had grown during quarantine.

It was the best experience of my life.

Stuck at home during social distancing, one of the businesses that has been closed (at least here in Minnesota) are hairdressers.

Now, lost as we are without our stylists’ help, our hairs have begun to grow long and matted. Some have taken this tragedy into their own hands though, as my mother did, and cut their own hair at home.

Now is the time! That haircut you dream of yourself having in your nightmares? You can give yourself that! No one ever need know; it’s not like you shall be seeing anyone anyway.

Of course, I can make no promises as to how long social distancing shall last. Who knows? Perhaps you may be called back to work tomorrow, and all of your coworkers will see, and laugh, at the mohawk you gave yourself. It may be better to play it safe and give yourself a haircut you would be willing for others to see you with.

If you want ideas for your own haircut, you need only to search for “coronacut” on Twitter or Instagram to see all the photos of people trying to do their own.

Why, you could partially shave your head. That’s an idea, though whether your razor will die halfway through is out of my vision.

Regardless, corona haircuts seem like a great way to have fun during social distancing. I have not gotten mine yet, but it is only a matter of time.

Movies/TV/Theaters

‘The Midnight Gospel’ review

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Image taken from:https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Midnight_Gospel

The Midnight Gospel is a Netflix show that came out on April 20th. The show was directed and produced by Duncan Trussel and Pendleton Ward, the creators of Adventure Time. The show follows the journey of a guy named Clancy who goes to different worlds and records podcasts interviewing people from those worlds. These interviews are based on real life conversations Pendleton Ward and Duncan Trussel had with philosophers around the world.

Each episode dives into different topics from the legalization of marijuana to the modern use of witchcraft. On top of the oftentimes bizarre topics, the animation that goes alongside it is very confusing, but interesting and fun to watch. The style of animation is very similar to Adventure Time in that it’s very colorful and there’s a lot of organic movement. 

The eighth and final episode was my favorite. This episode is based off a 2013 interview with Duncan Trussel’s mom. At the time, she had metastatic breast cancer that had spread to her bone marrow. She died three weeks after the interview. The episode dives into death and what happens after you die. They also talk about going with the flow of life rather than fighting against it.

The way they use metaphors and analogies makes it easy to understand the deep they’re talking about. I also really like this episode because it makes you feel so many emotions at once, there are times when your mind tells you you’re supposed to be sad and dark, but you can’t help but be happy at times, and there are times when it feels like you’re supposed to be happy but you feel sad.

Overall, this show was very good. I think that I will have to watch it a couple more times to fully understand everything because there is so much information, but the visuals make it interesting enough that it will still be fun to watch. I highly recommend watching it.