Why diabetes is so dangerous

By: Abreham Debele

4 January 2018, http://www.scientificanimations.com/wiki-images/, by: Manu5, via Wikimedia Commons

Diabetes is a chronic health condition that affects how the body turns food into energy for the rest of your life. In normal conditions, the body would break down food into sugar and release it into the bloodstream, where insulin acts like the key and releases the sugar into the cell. Instead though, people with diabetes have too much sugar staying in the blood. To tackle this, diabetic patients monitor their sugar levels through their diet, glucose monitors, and insulin pumps.

Diabetes is a very serious health issue because it kills about two million people a year. Because of this, it’s known as a leading health challenge these days.

This issue means much more than just a medical diagnosis. It’s a chronic disease that affects you for the remainder of your life. Risks can include serious issues like heart disease, vision loss, and kidney failure. Despite the many risks and struggles, people with diabetes are still determined to live healthy lives, and doctors around the world work constantly to provide better treatments and technology every year.

Throughout the 21st century, diabetes has become a representation of why the importance of balancing nutrition, exercise, and medicine is highly important.

Throughout the years, the hope for better diabetes management has grown as a result of scientific breakthroughs and changes in how we understand human anatomy. Researchers and doctors have announced new ways to help the body process sugar more effectively through advanced special tools like insulin pumps, continuous monitors, and glucose monitors. Immediately, thousands of patients benefited from these changes, and healthcare companies found healthier ways to prevent dangerous medical complications. While this isn’t a total cure yet, the progress that has been made in medicine allows people to stay healthy, active, and still enjoy life.

BEJALVIN discography review

By: Maple Graham

BEJALVIN is a cybergrind, hardcore electronic duo—made up of Craig and Gunkman—characterized by their unapologetically harsh and abrasive music. They hail from Minneapolis, and while widely unknown among most people, they still have energy that I’ve not experienced from any other music. Since hearing them on their North American Devastation tour, I’ve come to appreciate their unique style, and I’ve since listened to their entire main discography: ‘BEJALVIN’ (the self-referential album), ‘BEJIBLE,’ ‘BEJUBSTEP 3’, and the most recent ‘PLANETARY DEVESTATION’. I’ll be giving my opinion on these main 4 albums only.

With ‘BEJALVIN’ being their first work, it’s no surprise that I find it to be the most lackluster of their main releases—however it’s promising, and you see a glimpse of their future style within the album. It’s uniform throughout: no interludes or prolonged breaks for one to catch their breath. My favorite song from this album is “CRUNCH,” as it’s by far the most sonically violent. But make no mistake—this album is consistent with itself, and “CRUNCH” doesn’t deviate from the main listening experience.

‘BEJIBLE’ is quite a few steps up from their debut album, split directly down the middle and dividing it into two “sides” similar to a vinyl. This is directly stated within “WORST SONG EVER” when Gunkman states “I guess this side of the record’s over now / If you got this […] on vinyl, flip that […] over / If you don’t got this […] on vinyl that makes a lot more sense ’cause we never pressed this […],” during the fade-out of the song. The first side is noticeably more lulling, with a 5 minute opening track—”SYS612 (Bejalvin’s Lament)”—sounding nothing like their usual selves, and then hitting the listener with a wall of noise a third of the way through “BORN MONEY SWAG DIE.” The second side is less polarizing; I find the first side of the album to outshine the second half, but only because of the initial fakeout. The work as a whole is extremely cohesive, with most songs segueing into one another. This trend only continues in their future works.

‘BEJUBSTEP 3’ is the most cohesive of all the albums: it can play front to back with no pauses, and could’ve been released as a giant 19 minute song without any issue. This album features a staggering amount of features and guest artists—only one song out of the 7 track album is made entirely by BEJALVIN. This album also comes with a “full album visual experience” on their YouTube channel, which fits the music perfectly, yet I would not recommend it to anyone who’s sensitive to rapidly flashing lights. This most likely pushed them a bit further into the limelight, and exposed them to fans of the other people they collaborated with.

‘PLANETARY DEVASTATION’ is the most recent release of the duo, and their longest. Clocking in at 33 minutes, it’s intense and is practically an extension of ‘BEJIBLE.’ Fast-paced, loud, and oddly coherent—their effort is clearly shown here through the constant meshing of genres and quick mood changes. Not a single song directly shares a theme, aside from the interlude “SMOKING KILLS” and the following “SPACE ALIEN GANGSTALKERS,” in which the duo compare substance abuse with getting abducted by aliens. Other themes of the songs within the album include shoplifting within “SHOPLIFTING,” dissing Yung Gravy and demanding a grand total of 100 dollars from him within “YUNG GRAVY,” and scrolling on social media within their song “X.” It’s dark comedy combined with noise—something I’ve come to enjoy from them.

In all, BEJALVIN is not for everyone, but they admittedly have refreshing views when it comes to music and self-expression. Additionally, during their live shows, they’re both extremely energetic, even when the crowd is really small, and they make music with a clear passion. I think that anyone who enjoys experimental music should listen to them at least once!