Monthly Archives: May 2018

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Mundane Monday #161: lighting

Welcome to Mundane Monday #161, shots of mundane objects that are not so mundane on second glance.

A lamp or a light could be mundane. It isn’t when the electricity goes out. Suddenly light and head and power become much less mundane and much more amazing.

This light is in the lobby of the Hotel Murano in Tacoma, and it is another example of the amazing glass art that is all over Tacoma.

Last week’s photographs for Mundane Monday: stairs. Published on Tuesday.

ColletteB responds with a beautiful staircase.

It’s Monday already somewhere in the world… I am posting before my Monday this week.

 

 

 

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Rhody

We are in the week of our annual Rhododendron Festival. A tricycle race on Wednesday, run by my Sunrise Rotary. The Bed Race, the Pet Parade. Today is the Rhody Run, but I wore my feet out yesterday, with the Running of the Balls (one of our big Rotary fundraisers) and then the Rhody Parade. I walked to Monroe Street at 9:30 am and was not done until 3:00 pm. My phone went dead, but another person’s recorded 16,000 steps. I iced my feet when I got home, up on pillows!

And the local rhododendrons are gorgeous. Are they narcissists? Or just joyful?

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black on white

black on white

white on black

it doesn’t matter

angels falling
made to fall
at peace with falling

I let myself fall
at peace with falling

and wonder what that means?

death?

no

though there are times I long
for the Beloved
for union with the Beloved
for all in one
and one all

let go

when an angel falls
they are at peace

they are at peace
with falling

people

see black and white

people

see good and evil

people

separate
label
categorize

angels don’t

black on white
or
white on black

it doesn’t matter
there is no separation
we are one

Beloved

One

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Heart and brain and alcohol, 2018

For the Daily Prompt: infect. Maybe heart and brain health could be an infectious idea…..

Heart disease is the number one cause of death in the US, around 24% of deaths every year. Strokes are fifth most common cause of death at 5%, dementia sixth most common at 3.6%, data here from 2014. Accidents have beaten strokes out for fourth place because of “unintentional overdose” deaths.

I did a physical on a man recently, who said what was the best thing he could do for his health?

“Reduce or better yet quit alcohol.” is my reply. Even though he’s within “current guidelines”. I showed him the first of these studies.

Two recent studies get my attention for the relationship between the heart and the brain and alcohol.

In this study: http://www.onlinejacc.org/content/64/3/281, 79,019 Swedish men and women were followed after completing a questionnaire about alcohol consumption.

They were followed from 1998 to 2009 and 7,245 cases of atrial fibrillation were identified. The relative risk for atrial fibrillation was alcohol dose dependent: that is, the people who did not drink had a relative risk of atrial fibrillation set at 1.0. At 1-6 drinks per week the risk was 1.07, at 7-14 per week the risk was 1.07, at 14-21 drinks per week 1.14 and at >21 drinks per week 1.39. They also break it down by number of drinks per day. So why do we care about atrial fibrillation? “Atrial fibrillation (AF)/atrial flutter (AFL), the most common cardiac arrhythmia, is accompanied with a 4- to 5-fold increased risk for stroke, tripling of the risk for heart failure, doubling of the risk for dementia, and 40% to 90% increase in the risk for all-cause mortality.”

Atrial fibrillation, stroke, congestive heart failure, dementia and 40-90% increase in all-cause mortality. Want to protect your brain and live longer? Quit alcohol.

Well, that instantly decreased my enthusiasm for alcohol, now down to one drink per week if that.

Here is a second study: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(18)30134-X/fulltext?code=lancet-site

“Findings:
In the 599β€ˆ912 current drinkers included in the analysis, we recorded 40β€ˆ310 deaths and 39β€ˆ018 incident cardiovascular disease events during 5Β·4 million person-years of follow-up. For all-cause mortality, we recorded a positive and curvilinear association with the level of alcohol consumption, with the minimum mortality risk around or below 100 g per week. Alcohol consumption was roughly linearly associated with a higher risk of stroke (HR per 100 g per week higher consumption 1Β·14, 95% CI, 1Β·10–1Β·17), coronary disease excluding myocardial infarction (1Β·06, 1Β·00–1Β·11), heart failure (1Β·09, 1Β·03–1Β·15), fatal hypertensive disease (1Β·24, 1Β·15–1Β·33); and fatal aortic aneurysm (1Β·15, 1Β·03–1Β·28). By contrast, increased alcohol consumption was log-linearly associated with a lower risk of myocardial infarction (HR 0Β·94, 0Β·91–0Β·97). In comparison to those who reported drinking >0–≀100 g per week, those who reported drinking >100–≀200 g per week, >200–≀350 g per week, or >350 g per week had lower life expectancy at age 40 years of approximately 6 months, 1–2 years, or 4–5 years, respectively.”

Ok, over half a million people followed, 40K+ deaths, 39K+ heart events (heart attack, atrial fibrillation, new congestive heart failure, etc), that’s a pretty impressive study.

A 5% 12 ounce beer is 14 grams of alcohol. Here: https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health/overview-alcohol-consumption/what-standard-drink. Our local brewery and pourhouse usually serve pints, 16 oz, and the range is from 5% to over 9% alcohol. Two 9% pints is how many standard drinks? You do the math. Currently the recommendations in the US are no more than seven drinks per week for women (98 grams) and fourteen for men (196 grams) per week, no saving it up for the weekend, no bingeing. The UK stops at 98 grams for both men and women. The rest of Europe goes higher.

Heart and brain, how I love you! I like my brain and don’t want to pickle it. I think I’ll choose heart and brain over alcohol, long term over short term, health over escapism.

Have a great week!

More:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/02/180220183954.htm

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(18)30022-7/fulltext

http://www.acc.org/latest-in-cardiology/articles/2016/08/26/16/48/consumer-news-stroke-esc-2016

I took the photograph. It reminds me of neurons in the brain.