Likely Apocalypses: GM Foods

Posted on by char

It’s time to look at likely apocalypses again! This time, we’re going to look at the possibility of an apocalypse by genetically modified foods.

Genetically modified, or GM, foods, are pretty well known. Even if most people only have a passing knowledge of GM foods, it seems as if everyone has an opinion. I mean, say “Monsanto” in a crowded room and then sit back and watch the world burn. (But, um, not literally burn.) So, can GM foods really cause an apocalypse? Let’s take a look.

What are GM foods?

GM foods are, in essence, pretty self-explanatory. They’re crop seeds that have been genetically engineered, typically for a particular purpose. (No, that purpose is not to cause zombie food. Well…at least I hope not.) These seeds may grow crops that are more resistant to weather damage, need less pesticides, grow more easily in hard-to-grow environments (like dry soil), or have a higher crop yield. (There are other reasons, and I can’t pretend to even have an inkling of them all, but those are a few.)

I guess you could say that GM foods are crops that are bred for a purpose. Like cross-breeding roses for the perfect shade of red, only with food that people ingest. Okay, okay — to be fair, breeding roses isn’t exactly the same thing. That’s more selective breeding, which has been around for centuries.

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GM seeds aren’t selectively bred per se; they actually have foreign DNA inserted into them to promote whatever purpose for which they’re being modified.

Are GM foods safe?

Well, this is sort of what’s causing the controversy.

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There’s currently no evidence that GM foods are harmful or cause health issues/defects/etc, but…there isn’t any evidence that says they aren’t totally safe, either. The absence of harm doesn’t necessarily prove safety, but the lack of proven safety doesn’t necessarily prove harm, either. So…the jury’s still out. Some countries have also banned or restricted the use of GM crops, so make of that what you will.

In the meantime, I guess I’ll just sit here and eat my ripe-for-longer banana. (Kidding; I’m allergic to bananas.)

Can GM foods cause an apocalypse?

Um. I don’t know. I mean, I guess it’s possible, since no one seems to truly know what the long-term effects (if any) are. Is it likely? Well, at the risk of sounding like an indecisive record…I don’t know. Long-term effects and all that.

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This is one of those things where really, only time will tell. (Though if it does cause an apocalypse, would we be able to recognize it before it’s too late? Hmm…)

What would a GM food-based apocalypse look like?

Who knows! Really, anything is possible, and I’m sure many other people have thought about this. Personally, I think it would be more along the lines of unintended consequences. I have a list of “what if’s” that fall under that. For example, what if a modified strain mutates and stops growing, leading to starvation?

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Or what if it mutates and ends up poisoning people?

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What if GM foods end up producing more allergens, or somehow lead to adverse health reactions? Will crops lose their genetic diversity? What if seeds are controlled by one or two corporations, giving them the ability to control the world’s population? (Insert twirly mustache villain here.) Will a reliance on modified food then allow people to weaponize the seeds (think biowarfare)? What if the world ends up relying on GM foods, which leads to only having one or two strains of any single crop, and something goes wrong — like famine or a bug infestation or a disease? Will the altered plant DNA eventually alter human DNA and create plant people?

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(I know, I know, this one’s unlikely. It would make a fun novel though; someone should get on that.)

So many apocalyptic possibilities.

Sources (and extra reading)

https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2015/02/gmo-foods-what-you-need-to-know/index.htm

https://www.eatrightontario.ca/en/Articles/Food-technology/Understanding-Genetically-Modified-Foods.aspx

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-truth-about-genetically-modified-food/

Watch Out: "XX," a female-focused horror anthology

Posted on by tavia.

XX is a horror anthology in four parts, all from female perspectives available on Netflix.

Mothers doing their best, Girls just trying to have fun, and Single Ladies looking for a little solidarity. In XX we get to see vignettes of everyday life going horribly wrong and getting darkly twisted.

Check out the trailer and then if you’re not convinced, check out my review of the parts and the whole of XX.

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Understand Sunscreen…or die.

Posted on by tavia.

Sunscreen is inconvenient to a point where it’s hard to be certain if the benefits are completely worth the frustration. Technically, by using measures of vanity and longevity, the benefit of using sunscreen regularly does far outweigh the hassle.

Depending on the type of sun protection used the pros can range from reducing the risk of skin cancer to increasing the time spent as a desirable and attractive person. The sun can destroy not only the quality of you looks but also the quality of your life.

Before or after the end of the world skin cancer will be the most commonly occurring and easily addressed of the cancers. But sunscreen isn’t only about skin cancer: it’s also about staying pretty and looking young for as long as possible.

The sun provides UV rays in a number of forms.

A few of these forms are plotting to kill you.

UVA will get under you skin and age you prematurely. UVB will give you sunburns and skin cancer. UVC will wait patiently for the silly mortals to destroy the ozone so it can pop in and turn the earth into a scorching wasteland where everyone lives underground and fights for water.

Name

Abbreviation

Notes / alternative names

How it will kill you

Ultraviolet A

UVA

Long-wave, black light, not absorbed by the ozone layer

Ew; your face…

You’ll lose your looks and thus weaken your negotiation ability and lower your social status, you ugly old hag.

Ultraviolet B

UVB

Medium-wave, mostly absorbed by the ozone layer

Slowly rotting like a statue in a slow motion fire!

Cancer causing agent and Sunburns slowing you down and crippling you making others more inclined to leave you for dead.

Ultraviolet C

UVC

Short-wave, germicidal, completely absorbed by the ozone layer and atmosphere

Goodbye, cruel world!

These rays get absorbed by the ozone and atmosphere so as this barrier rots away UVC rays make their way to earth and start destroying any living cells they glance at without even getting close enough to throw things.

Modified from chart found here.

The two types of Sunscreen can protect you from the two antagonists against mortals: UVA and UVB

UVC is just another fun way to die slowly but surely (or cure your seasonal depression and disinfect objects).

The choice between Chemical and Physical is personal and the market even offers hybrid products that combine the two. Chemical Sunscreen absorbs UV radiation and Physical Sunscreen reflects UV radiation.

Think Screen = Chemical and Block=Physical

Chemical sunscreens are more likely to be irritating to the skin and contain ingredients that may be absorbed into the skin. Some of these ingredients, retinol for example, can actually increase potential sun damage over time. Benzophenones have been linked to internal, systemic damage.

While Chemical sunscreen has its drawbacks, it is also the best option for anyone who plans to sweat or get wet as it’s more water resistant than a Physical sunscreen.

As the name implies, Physical sunscreen creates an actual protective block that rejects the UV rays away from the skin.

Physical sunscreen is usually made of titanium dioxide or zinc oxide and will often leave a ghastly white/grey cast on skin with any hint of melanin. This pallor is a pro if the wearer is trying to blend in with the dead on a hot day, but a con if they wish to look like a healthy human.

Application, irritation, look, reapplication, and more will factor into which type someone prefers.

Physical Sunscreen

Chemical Sunscreen

Application

Before exposure

15+ minutes before exposure

Reapplication

Every 2 Hours

Every 2 Hours – more often if sweating or getting wet

Irritation

Less likely to cause irritation

More likely to cause irritation

Concerns

If it looks terrible you’re less likely to wear it or reapply it throughout the day.

· Chemicals that can be absorbed into the body

· May contain ingredients that increase sun damage overtime.

Try not to use spray-on sunscreens because they’re bad for the environment and no type of sunscreen should be inhaled.

But What about Vitamin D?!

Who better to ask than The Vitamin D Council?

Other factors

There are other factors which can affect the amount of vitamin D your body makes from exposure to the sun. These are:

· The amount of skin you expose. The more skin you expose, the more vitamin D you can produce.

· How old you are. As you get older, your skin has a harder time producing vitamin D.

· Whether you’re wearing sunscreen. Sunscreen blocks a lot of vitamin D production.

· The altitude you’re at. The sun is more intense on top of a mountain than at the beach. This means you make more vitamin D the higher up you are (at higher altitudes).

· Whether it is cloudy. Less UVB reaches your skin on a cloudy day and your skin makes less vitamin D.

· Air pollution. Polluted air soaks up UVB or reflects it back into space. This means that if you live somewhere where there is lots of pollution, your skin makes less vitamin D.

· Being behind glass. Glass blocks all UVB, so you can’t make vitamin D if you’re in sunlight, but behind glass.

Your skin type

Melanin is a substance that affects how light or dark your skin color is. The more melanin you have, the darker your skin color. The amount of melanin you have in your skin affects the amount of vitamin D you can produce.

Melanin protects against skin damage from too much UVB exposure, so darker skins with more melanin allow less UVB to enter the skin. With less UVB getting through the skin, less vitamin D is produced each minute. This is why if you’re dark skinned, you need more sun exposure to make vitamin D than if you’re fair skinned.

The table below shows the different skin types:
Skin Type Skin color Skin characteristics
I

clip_image002

 Very fair; red or blond hair; blue eyes; freckles Always burns, never tans
II

clip_image004

 Fair; sandy or red hair; blue, hazel or green eyes Usually burns, tans with difficulty
III

clip_image006

 Fair; with any eye or hair color; very common Sometimes mild burn, gradually tans
IV

clip_image008

 Dark brown hair, green, hazel or brown eyes. Rarely burns, tans with ease
V

clip_image010

 Dark brown and black hair; brown and dark brown eyes. Very rarely burns, tans very easily
VI

clip_image012

 Black hair, dark brown eyes. May never burn, tans very easily

The paler your skin type the more easily your skin can produce vitamin D. So, if you have skin type I to III, you produce vitamin D more quickly than if you have skin type IV to VI. For example, if you have skin type I, it might take around 15 minutes of sun exposure to get the vitamin D you need, while if you have skin type V or VI, it might take up to six times longer (up to 2 hours).

Because of all these factors – your skin type, where you live and the time of day or season – it can be difficult to work out how much time you need to spend exposing your skin to the sun in order to get the vitamin D you need. A good rule of thumb is to get half the sun exposure it takes for your skin to begin to burn to get your vitamin D and expose as much skin as possible.

Summer Reading List ['17]

Posted on by tavia.

Summertime means longer days and more unstructured leisure time to do what you will with. Since scientists love to remind us that children get dumber over the summer months because they spend all their time riding their bikes in the street and stealing from convenience stores, schools love to assign Summer Reading Lists.

Summer Reading lists are great but they tend to be geared at children and highly filtered by “The Man.” Also, they always leave out graphic novels…

With that in mind, I’m going to generate my own! I have read all these books so don’t kick me in the junk if you hate them; they’re on the list of books I plan to read or think someone should plan to read.

In Case of Survival Summer Reading List [2017]

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REVIEW – I Hate Fairyland Volume 1: Madly Ever After by Skottie Young

Posted on by tavia.

Basically, I Hate Fairyland is the end of the world

Skottie Young has a way of infusing cute with crazy in a way that no one else can. While his artwork is well-known, I Hate Fairyland is a welcomed introduction to his writing and storytelling skills. Image Comics, the biggest indie publisher stays on brand by getting behind this title.

I Hate Fairyland Volume 1: Madly Ever After by Skottie Young is the story of young Gertrude getting trapped in the magical Fairyland on a quest to get home. Unfortunately she is awful at quests and decades have passed forging once adorable and idealistic Gert in a foul-mouthed (as foul as the magic in Fairyland allows), sadistic, one woman (in the body of a child) Apocalypse carving her way through every delightful and dangerous neighborhood in the land to find the Key that will get her home.

She’s the only one of her kind, trapped in another world and forced to fend for herself – It may be just for one little girl, but it’s the end of the world.

Gert is assigned a little fairy guide named Larry who is 50% storage solution, 25% useless guide, and 25% link to the audience to help offer perspective.

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Likely Apocalypses: Plague Apocalypse

Posted on by char

It’s time to examine some more likely apocalypses! (Yay!) This time, let’s look at the possibility of a deadly plague.

One of the most famous plagues in history is the Plague. That is, the Black Death (or the Black Plague). It killed over one-third of Europe’s population in the mid-1300s. As the Black Death made its way across Europe, towns and villages were full of mass graves, quarantines, plague masks, and dead people.

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It was not a pleasant time.

I imagine that at the end of it all, people were relieved to, you know, not be dying anymore.

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It was gone, and life could go back to normal, without the threat of another epidemic.

Except…it’s not gone.

No, really. It isn’t. It’s still around in some parts of the world, lurking, waiting for some unsuspecting rat or flea to pick it up and carry it around. (It was recently found in Arizona.) (Have you stocked up on plague masks yet?)

The intervening centuries have been relatively kind to our plague friend, and it’s just as deadly as it was in the fourteenth century. Sure, there are treatments available nowadays, but it can still kill you.

The “black plague” is actually a bacterial infection that goes by the lovely name of Yersinia pestis (sounds friendly, doesn’t it?). There are three forms: bubonic (found in the lymph nodes); septicemic (found in the bloodstream); and pneumonic (an advanced stage when the bacteria is passed directly from person to person). It is, quite frankly, terrifying and terrible (sort of like Ebola, but from rats and fleas).

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It’s super virulent, and if it isn’t caught and treated in time, it will probably kill you in a horribly gruesome way. (God help you if you reach the pneumonic stage, because you’ll probably die.)

Can the plague cause an apocalypse?

YOU BETCHA. If not the plague, then a plague. It might be Ebola. Or Marburg. Or SARS. Or some flu variant that hasn’t been discovered yet. But a deadly epidemic (of whatever) has always been a possible apocalypse – there are a lot more bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics these days, and there are some crazy deadly viruses floating around out there.

We have learned, through some awesome epidemics like the Black Death, the Spanish Flu, and even more recent epidemics like H1N1 and SARS, that bacteria and viruses are very effective at killing people. If there’s something out there that’s untreatable, deadly, and spreads quickly, well…bye y’all. It’s been nice knowing you.

I mean, apocalypse by illness is so possible that “biological warfare” is an actual thing.

How can you survive a plague apocalypse?

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Get thee to an isolated compound, preferably underground, with no contact with the outside world. But make sure the people in the compound aren’t already infected, or you’re screwed anyway.

Honestly, if a fun new disease is going to kill the human race, there isn’t going to be much that we can do. If our immune systems can’t handle it, then no amount of herbs are going to save us, and no vaccines will, either (especially if it moves too quickly or mutates too fast).

Into the Archives: Babylon A.D. (2008)

Posted on by tavia.

Why am I watching Babylon A.D. (2008) in 2017? Because we just changed out cable plan from one scam to a new scam where we have ALL THE CHANNELS! I literally feel compelled to watch all the movies. It’s an urge I’ve only ever felt in times when my body wants to nap or my eyes see passed appetizers or deserts.

Upon seeing a Vin Diesel movie that was also about my favorite subject I squealed a bit then got comfortable.

clip_image001In a post-apocalyptic wasteland, a battle-hardened mercenary, Toorop (Vin Diesel), lives by his own code and the credo kill or be killed. His latest assignment is to escort a young woman named Aurora (Mélanie Thierry) and her guardian, Sister Rebeka (Michelle Yeoh), from Kazakhstan to New York. Facing danger at each turn, Toorop begins to realize that Aurora represents the last hope for mankind’s survival.

In the first few minutes, Vin Diesel does his best Vin Diesel. He grumbles and smirks and explains to someone with a gun pointed at him that as one sided as this situation may seem, it won’t end well for the guy with the (presumed) upper hand. It’s at this point where you either commit to Vin Diesel in an Apocalyptic Wasteland: The Film or bail because you’ve already seen this movie but with cars or secret agents doing X-games sports.

I took a moment to count my blessings then hunkered down for Vin Diesel the mercenary in the not too distant future. His name is Toorop and for a long time, it’s neither clear nor important if that’s his first or last name.

Toorop is hired to transport a girl to America—a country he’s been barred from entering in (this movie is heavy-handed when it comes to exposition in dialogue).

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The girl is a weirdo who grew up in a remote convent isolated from the rest of the world with a lady-Monk as her guardian.

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The Monk, like all Monks apparently, is skilled at hand to hand combat and unphased but everything and anything she encounters. The girl, on the other hand, seems to be a toddler in the body of a twenty-year-old.

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She literally wanders off every chance she gets, trusts strangers, and asks every single question that enters her mind.

At one point, it’s clear there are two factions who are fighting to get the girl away from Vin Diesel and company but not at all clear why. Also not clear is why Toorop doesn’t take the millions of dollars he’s offered to let someone else finish this job he was basically blackmailed and strong-armed into taking. Honor?

Babylon A.D. doesn’t quite explore the current landscape or how it became the way it is. The movie is a series of fight scenes, explosions, quick get-aways, sexy stares, and pseudo-religious references with a capitalist and futuristic twist.

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But if you saw the cover art you already knew that. Therefore, if you saw the cover art and pressed play, you will not be disappointed.

The Surge illustrates how beautifully the good intentions of corporations pave the way to Hell

Posted on by tavia.

The Surge from Maximum Games and Focus Home Interactive has it all: A teaser that opens with a corporate spokesman explaining how their company is going to no only save the world but also the people- by MAKING THEM BETTER,  glitchy feedback, space, robots, a desperation that can only lead to the most dangerous kind of progress.


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Likely Apocalypses: Religious Apocalypse

Posted on by char

So far in our list of possible apocalypses, we’ve looked at worldwide nuclear war, environmental disaster, the zombie apocalypse, and a robot apocalypse in more detail. Now, let’s take a look at the possibility of a religious apocalypse.

Okay, to be honest, a religious apocalypse seems pretty unlikely. (But if I’m wrong and god rains hellfire on us, then it’s probably also not survivable. Sorry about that.) Sure, there always seem to be a few people telling everyone and their dog that the Rapture is on its way and we’re in the End Times (and don’t forget the “Mayan Apocalypse” of 2012!), but apocalypse by deity is, at this time, not the most likely.

That said, nearly every religion speaks about the end of the world – eschatology is included in most holy writings in some way. (And, admittedly, it’s my favorite part of theology…maybe this was why my theology professors were always bemused? Hmm.) Christianity, with its Book of Revelation, probably has the best known religious apocalyptic example. And really, it sounds long, involved, and possibly complicated, what with the Seven Seals and the four horsemen and all that. But most, if not all, religions include something about the End Times in their books/texts/teachings. Even “ancient” religions (I use quotation marks because reconstructionists are bringing some of those religions back to life), speak about the end of the world. See: Ragnarok.

Regardless of what the religious texts claim will happen afterwards (a new and better world where there’s actual, honest to god world peace, for example), the end result is always the same: the world as we know it will end. Maybe God/the gods and goddesses/the Goddess/Source/the Universe/what have you just gets tired of watching us doom ourselves and steps in with the reset button. Who knows?

What could it look like?

Who knows! (I’m being serious.) Religions do talk about the end times, but they don’t always agree on what will bring about the end of the world. Now, I’m not well-versed in a lot of other religions, so what I know of their eschatology is based on Internet research. But, a quick Google search gives me a worldwide flood, a river of molten metal, demons, the Antichrist, a Judgement Day (no, not that Judgment Day), the degeneration of society (hmm…), and the appearance of seven suns in the sky. And those aren’t even all of the possibilities.

So really, when talking about specifics, no one actually knows what a religious apocalypse could look like. What we do know is that there will be doom and despair and destruction.

Sounds fun, doesn’t it?

Could a religious apocalypse actually happen?

Well, if there are deities out there watching us (and the end times haven’t started yet), I suppose there’s a possibility that they’ll throw up their hands in defeat and hit the reset button on human civilization because have you looked at us lately? We haven’t exactly been the models of modern major generals paragons of peace and love and kindness and friendship and all of those other general good things.

Okay, I suppose anything is possible. But I think it’s more likely that the gods will just abandon this sinking ship and pretend it never happened, so a religious apocalypse will probably not be a thing.

But if I’m wrong, I’m sorry. And if you find yourself sitting in a lovely handbasket during the end of the world, save a spot for me, will you?

What can we do to survive a religious apocalypse?

Repent, ye sinners. Or pray. Actually, I don’t know.