Story-to-science and Eastern medicine ponderings (this post will be a thread for pasting research and considering science across cultural traditions):

In Ojibwe, the word for medicine--mashkiki--apparently translates to "strength of the earth." [I'll post a video later on that]

Chinese and Vietnamese traditional medicine share a lot of similarities--often, changes take an environmental approach over a longer periods of time rather than targeted at one particular ailment, and the effects are often gradual too.

i.e. eating bitter squash/melon a few times a month winds up preventing or flushing out parasitic infections. It's also used in the Philippines as a way to regulate insulin.

Or when ill, cạo gió--roughly translates to “catch wind/spirit[?]”-- agitating the skin with a coin (sometimes called "coining" = think of a massage, dragging/scraping the edge of a coin with the force of an itch across your back+front etc. for boosting circulation--most medical pictures on the internet are horror stories of it done wrong) to promote circulation and menthol/peppermint oil + absorption (and maybe also circulation if the oils actually do that) is a traditional practice that I also grew up with and found useful especially whenever I had respiratory ailments, especially with the flu and fevers.

In the past decade, there's a growing body of Western research showing properties in menthol and peppermint oil that support the practice [will post NIH/other peer reviewed links below].

1) you're increasing circulation, and often decreasing inflammation

2) they have antiviral+antibacterial properties

As I think about the Chinese COVID-19 AliBaba MediXchange cases, several hospitals including Wuhan's noted that they also issued Traditional Chinese Medicine along side with conventional medical treatments that the U.S. is trying to test to confirm now. Vietnam is it's own country with some of its own practices but I wouldn't be surprised if coining with a menthol is part of the mix too. In retrospect, the fact that the most popular ointment I grew up with has Chinese characters all over it probably means that it's a Chinese practice too...

...

And yeah, some folks would consider Asians Eastern, and Native Americans in the "West" (excluding the folks who consider land-bridge migration and pre-colonial African migration part of the history).

But the Ojibwe creation story begins in the East, plus their maps would start with East on top too. So I'm drafting the Aanishinabek brothers and sisters back into the Eastern delegation as this season's top pick along with the Wu Tang Clan.

 

 

 

 

......

 

 

 

Menthol essential oil vapor as:

1) anti-inflammatory

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphar.2016.00170/full

2) antiviral

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ffj.3252

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6064118/

 

 

See treatments (U.S., Chinese, etc.) and updates in this thread for Health Care Workers:

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10112982683270473&id=2256689

Or straight to China's COVID-19 handbook: https://covid-19.alibabacloud.com/

Trad Chinese Medicine for COVID-19

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7128263/

 

The Mekong Musical Connection

While I was in college, a band featuring a Khmer lead vocalist (Cambodian retro-psychadelic pop) called Dengue Fever -- and the most haunting tune on their featured album was one called "Sleepwalking on the Mekong"

As a language among Asians, Vietnamese is supposedly described as the most melodic -- and from a pure tonal linguistic point of view, I can agree as it's got numerous nuances to tone and inflection in ways that can differ even from some Chinese languages and dialects (though I'll note it's not necessarily the smoothest in flow compared to something like Shanghainese).

So starting from a musical frame of mind, Khmer is easiest to distinguish from Vietnamese (at least to me as a relatively foreign listener) by the hard constonant gracenotes at the beginning of certain words and phrases. At a glance, attempting to pronounce the Cambodian capitol, Phnom Penh, might be the most visible example-- the "P" sound runs directly into the "n" right away. So to an English speaker, it sounds a bit like like a stutter between two consonents.

Vietnamese however tends to be pretty straight forward and feels relatively simplistic in its conciseness--one starting consonant per syllable. No rhythmic complexity at the start of any words.


ANyhow, I brought all this up to highlight some interesting similarities (and my sort of sibling-like love for what little I understand about the Khmer language, culture, music, and people) because there are a few South Vietnamese songs from the 1960s-70s that shares a very similar cadence to Dengue Fever's song "Sleepwalking on the Mekong" and I wanted to put the two here side by side for us to listen and compare as they share some interesting similarities in aesthetic and maybe composition too if not by aesthetic.

[will post links here later when I'm not supposed to be sleeping]



As a far off side note:
I was curious about Baltimore's (greetings from the region) incinerator and assumed that they had the situation quietly under wraps--it turns out the state of Maryland recently came down on the operators and require it to reduce emissions by 1/5th as recently as August of 2018 haha

With the newly elected governor and other officials in Michigan's executive and legislative branch, I suspect we'll have new advocacy opportunities that might sway how we can shift the landscape of air pollution in communities afflicted by it (especially in Detroit).

Gretchen Whitmer, Garlin Glichrist, and Stephanie Chang here we come! Save us a slot in your calendars for a phone call or meeting won't you please?

https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/environment/bs-md-trash-incinerator-pollution-20180820-story.html

Strategy beyond swords

A simple parallel between strategy for swordsmanship and strategy for most endeavors. In brief,  it roughly points out the need for vision and mission.

Distilled from early on in samurai and artist Miyamoto Musashi's book, go rin no sho (the Five Rings):

"It is not difficult to wield a sword in one hand; the Way to learn this is to train with two long swords, one in each hand. It will seem difficult at first, but everything is difficult at first. Bows are difficult to draw, halberds are difficult to wield; as you become accustomed to the bow so your pull will become stronger. When you become used to wielding the long sword, you will gain the power of the Way and wield the sword well.

...there is no fast way of wielding the long sword. The long sword should be wielded broadly, and the companion sword closely. This is the first thing to realize.

According to this Ichi school, you can win with a long weapon, and yet you can also win with a short weapon. In short, the Way of the Ichi school is the spirit of winning, whatever the weapon and whatever its size. 

It is better to use two swords rather than one when you are fighting a crowd, and especially if you want to take a prisoner." - Miyamoto Musashi, in go rin no sho (the Five Rings) on one school, two swords

It's the same for developing and championing one's vision in any endeavor.

We train and practice for the long-term.  Engaged with the rest of the world however, we're mindful that our reaching and immediate needs--the long and short--alike are instrumental to success only when clarity of intention and purpose remains central to your actions.

Carrying one's vision broadly for all to heed, and keeping tangible details close go hand in hand. We see this when making professional introductions and business pitches or making persuasive statements. What draws the attention of most people in any introduction comes from the bigger aspirations which take place in the initial introductions--that's the long sword to wield broadly. Skeptics are either repelled or drawn closer to you, for which you can share the details with greater detail.

Truths however, unlike swords, can be shared and work best when used without malice.

I've no parallel to the line about taking prisoners as of yet though... perhaps captivating hearts happens when people discover meaning through both?

For a translation of the text online:
http://www.uvm.edu/~asnider/IDAS_2011_CD/Teachers/Steve%20Llano's%20Materials/Strategy%20Books/Book%20of%20Five%20Rings%20-%20Musashi.pdf

I've been privileged to play for and with noted musicians who seek to tell stories from unheard of people or under privileged places.  It takes a fair amount of courage for some to ask for help (note Amanda Palmer's talk on "the art of asking"[1]), and the excellent Nate May's asking for support to create a nuanced portrait of Appalachia.  Hailing from West Virginia, he represents his roots and curiosities with dignity, and it convinces me that we've missed so much in the history books about America's Appalachian heritage.  I'd be interested in seeing what comes of his project.  If it fancies your interest too, perhaps you'd be up for donating?

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1367182816/dust-in-the-bottomland

[1] http://www.ted.com/talks/amanda_palmer_the_art_of_asking.html

Global+Local=Glocal Empowerment

When one understands how their local actions connect to global consequences and vice versa, I call it "glocal" understanding. You've developed a sense of place and can discern some degree of efficacy and significance in the systems which you affect.  In essence:

Global+Local=Glocal Empowerment

For Global Fest at The University of Michigan-Dearborn, I presented this concept by introducing three people representing organizations of differing scale:

Michelle Martinez, who worked with the regional Sierra Club Detroit office, Sally Petrella of Friends of the Rouge (a local watershed education group), and myself, representing the Student Environmental Association at UM-Dearborn.

To my alarm, the event orgnanizers broke up our presentation ending on a fiery, timely, and urgent statement from Michelle about the perils of current global problems on severe weather agitated by the effects of climate change. [For anyone skeptical and serious, please read here for common arguments refuted with good evidence).] 

The problem happens when a presentation that highlights problems to a large audience can not be followed up immediately with any empowering information and education about how individuals can make a difference in the world.

Even still, the event worked out well by the end of the day.  We made a global issue come down-to-earth and presented the audience with a variety of ways to make a difference in the world.

Using the geographic context behind a set of fiddle tunes arranged (and one written) by Michigan Fiddler Judy Plester, I performed and gave a speech that tied them into the industrial revolution, Appalachian cultural heritage, where our electricity comes from and how our current local energy consumption ties back to coal which accelerates global climate change and contributes to local environmental injustices.

In turn, I used that to flesh out the idea of global citizenship--that our local actions can make a global difference.  We share an opportunity to celebrate a rich cultural heritage, but also share a responsibility as stewards of human cultures and the broader ecosystemic communities they share.

For most people in Southeast Michigan, every time we turn on the lights we increase energy demand from the local utility, Detroit Edison, which sources much of its power from coal plants (coal makes up 54% of Michigan's energy circa 2011). Also worth noting from a 2011 energy report by Michigan's Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs Public Service Commission:

Michigan is limited in most energy resources and imports 97 percent of its petroleum needs, 82 percent of its natural gas and 100 percent of coal and nuclear fuel from other states and nations. These imports account for about 72 cents of every dollar spent for energy by Michigan’s citizens and businesses. Michigan citizens and businesses spent an estimated $31.3 billion on energy in 2009.

A sizable proportion of the coal used to meet this demand is obtained through a process known as mountain top removal (MTR) extraction. Cost competitive alternatives to coal energy exist in Michigan--here, wind power is on par or beneath the price of coal. In addition to its economic and environmental impacts, MTR displaces and destroys much of our Appalachian and ultimately the very cultural heritage that makes up the United States of America.

This presentation and performance was a fairly personal topic for me, I've met a few West Virginians who experienced MTR firsthand, and one of my friends grew up there. All of them conveyed similarly. Land owners are frequently encouraged or pressured (sometimes simply intimidated and threatened [disclosure, I have no affinity with the Mountain Justice organization which this link goes to]) to move away from their homesteads. For those who remain, the byproducts of MTR and its waste can lead to contamination of groundwater, or contribute to poor air quality which can lead to silicosis and other respiratory diseases. To find out more or get involved with finding alternative solutions to MTR, I Love Mountains and Mountain Justice are good places to get started.

This is why I work on issues of comprehensive sustainability, which looks at the social, economic, and environmental issues.  I don't like advocating solely about climate change because it tends to distract everyone from very real consequences and issues of public health, environmental justice, and the underlying ethics that motivate what we care about.