In Light Of My Recent Monkeypox Post, A LOT Of People Seem Confused Or Unaware Of The Growing Public

In light of my recent monkeypox post, A LOT of people seem confused or unaware of the growing public health concern. Here’s some high level info

Monkeypox is a rare disease from the same virus family as smallpox. Since May ‘22, a concerning outbreak has been occurring across many countries, including the US, that historically have not reported the virus

Symptoms can include fever, headache, muscle aches and backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills, exhaustion, and a rash that can look like pimples or blisters that appears on the face, inside the mouth, and on other parts of the body

The current outbreak appears to be spreading mostly through close, intimate contact with someone who has monkeypox. It can spread via direct contact with the infectious rash, scabs, or body fluids; respiratory secretions during prolonged, face-to-face contact; touching items that previously touched the infectious rash or body fluids; and pregnant people can spread the virus to their fetus

Most of the confirmed cases of monkeypox are men who have sex with men (MSM). This is not because MSM are biologically more susceptible to monkeypox. MSM generally have a better relationship with medical practitioners than heterosexual men, so they are more likely to get tested. Monkeypox is likely a concern for the broader public too

Good news: We know a lot about monkeypox (unlike the case with COVID). It is not transmitted as easily as COVID and is not as deadly. Two vaccines already exist

Bad news: In the US, the Biden Admin is dragging its feet on vaccine roll out. Most people, even at-risk populations, can’t get them yet. Most people are also unaware of this outbreak because the media is failing to inform the public. I hope this post helps shrink the info gap a little bit. Please consider spreading the word and adding to this post with more info and resources

I bet "quiet joy" looks a lot like "quiet desperation," MINA

I saw someone say that this year we're lined up with the days of the week for the dates in Dracula. But I noticed something else with today's entry:

Folks, we are truly in the Year of Dracula

It occurs to me that I haven't yet articulated something percolating in my mind. I've never read Dracula but I have been exposed to a (very different) stage production and the 90s movie. And I've seen plenty of references to it in other media and people imitating Bela Lugosi saying "I vant to suck your blood."

Which brings me to my point. Up until recently reading Dracula Daily, I just never even questioned the concept of Dracula, and most vampires in general, wanting to hunt and kill people for their blood. Like, blood is their food; when they are hungry they want human blood, like mosquitoes or ticks or whatever.

However, since reading Lucy's description of her experience being preyed on by Dracula, it's made me think I have been missing Stoker's point. And that many vampire story creators also don't address (and they certainly don't have to).

Dracula is feeding on Lucy's soul. The blood is incidental. He's draining her of herself. That's why strength of character makes a difference. Mina has built her character, the strength of her soul, in ways Lucy was always prevented from doing. Same with the captain of the Demeter. As captain, he was a stronger character than any other crew member, so he could resist being consumed. It's about way more than blood.

Idk if I'm conveying my epiphany very well. It's not that the idea of vampires eating souls is new to me. It's more that I think the blood part of it has been way overemphasized. Blood consumption has become the defining characteristic of vampires, and I think it's not at all what Stoker was trying to convey. They are demons that consume the spirit of a person. That's what makes what they do so evil and devastating. If it was just blood, it could be neutral in certain circumstances. But it's not blood. It's everything that makes a person who they are.

I bet it's that walking through a door thing. When you walk through a door often it clears your mind; I gather this is evolution at work because survival demands you have all your attention ready for whatever's on the other side of the door. That's why you'll be in the kitchen and think, "I need my notebook," but the instant you go through the door to the living room where you left it, you can't remember why you left the kitchen.

Anyway, I'm guessing opening an app maybe be similar enough to opening a door that it does the same thing. The calculator and the clock are side-by-side, so it's easy to miss-tap and open the wrong one. As it opens, your mind gets cleared. And then you're staring at the calculator blinking with confusion until you piece together what your original intent was.

me staring at my calculator app for 45 seconds before i remember i was trying to open my clock app to set an alarm

This fits nicely with what I've been pondering. Dracula consumes and destroys lives.

This update makes me also sad for Renfield in a way that's just like. Ok. He's not doing great before Dracula comes in. Seward is not running an establishment that is treating Renfield's issues, and there is no end in sight for the man where he is going to be able to live normally outside of the asylum. But for all that... his life was not a misery. Seward himself comments that Renfield seemed more content doing his thing in his cell than Seward was living his life on the outside.

Now he's in a straight jacket and chained to a wall and his life IS a fucking misery and it's just like. This is what Dracula does to people. Any little life that Renfield might have eked out for himself is gone now. Dracula has his hooks in him and I'm sure one way or another will lead him to his death. It was his powerlessness and his madness which drew Dracula to Renfield and that's all she wrote. Dracula doesn't stop until he's utterly decimated everything a person could be. Like I can't get over how little Renfield had. No power, no sanity, no friends. Just his contentment. That's it. And he can't even have that.