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Castle/Warehouses In The Sky

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Gyppo
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Location: UK

Castle/Warehouses In The Sky

Post by Gyppo » Sat Jun 06, 2020 6:07 am

Castles/Warehouses In The Air

Every week a different folded plastic bag,
rustles through my front door,
raising memories of real mail.
It uncurls slowly,
spreading itself like some wanton
begging me to fill it.

I wonder at the logic behind this,
the charity used clothing collection.
How can we ever satisfy this endless lust?

Do the organisers believe that I,
and millions of others,
own countless secret warehouses
bulging with surplus clothing?

Miles of invisible shelving,
packed into a garden shed
or a dusty loft,
defying the laws of physics?

Acres of disused aircraft hangars,
perhaps, or empty shipyards,
racked out with billions of coat hangers.

Spare shoes, 'neatly paired' of course,
beyond the wildest dreams
of even Imelda Marcos?

So I put the unfilled bags,
heartbreaking messages unread,
into the plastics recycling bin,
and wonder at the waste of energy,
and the possible pollution,
of endlessly recycling empty bags.

It's one of life's modern mysteries.

Gyppo
I've been writing ever since I realised I could.  Storytelling since I started talking.  Poetry however comes and goes  ;-)

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Mark
Posts: 586
Joined: Sun Jan 07, 2018 4:19 am

Re: Castle/Warehouses In The Sky

Post by Mark » Sat Jun 06, 2020 10:06 am

Nice one, very nicely done indeed, Gyppo. Some good bloody questions and shades of Dylan di Vilde in there - :mrgreen: -  enjoyed the read! 

 

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Gyppo
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Location: UK

Re: Castle/Warehouses In The Sky

Post by Gyppo » Sat Jun 06, 2020 4:11 pm

Cheers, Mark.

As the latest one flopped through the door it suddenly occurred to me that I recycle around fifty totally unused bags a year.  (I wear my old clothes until the point they become relegated to cleaning rags.  Or repurposed, like a thick denim jeans leg becoming a light-proof potato storage bag.)

Once the thought had gripped me the rest just happened ;-)

Dylan would have made it rhyme ;-)

Gyppo

 
I've been writing ever since I realised I could.  Storytelling since I started talking.  Poetry however comes and goes  ;-)

Dave
Posts: 1991
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Re: Castle/Warehouses In The Sky

Post by Dave » Sun Jun 07, 2020 4:42 am

This may help to answer the poem's questions:
https://www.boldbusiness.com/infrastruc ... landscape/

The self-storage industry is now bigger than all the major fast food restaurant chains put together. It seems people can stop themselves collecting stuff they will never need while the number of people living from soup kitchens rapidly grows. Doesn't excuse the plastic waste naturally. The poem opens avenues for discussion.
Dave

 

indar
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Re: Castle/Warehouses In The Sky

Post by indar » Sun Jun 07, 2020 12:06 pm

I agree with dave, this does open up a subject for discussion.

My knee-jerk reaction to the premise of your poem was on the negative side. I understand that you, personally, make due with what you have till it falls to shreds and good for you. I also understand the need to cut back on our use of plastic. But I am in total agreement with those who try to recycle useable stuff for those in need. The net result is I am conflicted by so many issues raised by your poem including "why do people have to beg stuff from people who have too much stuff on behalf of the poeple who don't have enough stuff?" And yes, acquisition is a sickness on the land thanks to the ad industry whose only aim is to convince us we need this stuff in order to be happy, starting with Tony Tiger frosted flakes and evolving to happiness is a luxury car, a ten bedroom 5 bathroom house and high end wardrobe.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=ge ... 3e17114b6e


 

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Mark
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Re: Castle/Warehouses In The Sky

Post by Mark » Mon Jun 08, 2020 3:50 am

There are various stats around the recycling industry, mainly packaging, I guess, that question the overall outcome, including the energy inputs. It seems only glass offers any real benefits but the principle is a good one if you also reduce the amount of stuff that is going to need recycling, that is a focus area where progress is being made in some countries.

I've had charity collectors ask me for old clothes and gently explained to them that I need my old clothes for wearing until they get recycled as rags. When I do donate anything of any nature, I prefer to give directly to the recipient.

We had an illegal feeding scheme for the poor in our village from Day 1 of our hard lock-down. one of the strictest in the world with around 230 000 arrests for breaking the rules. Our government is incompetent and drunk with power. The economy is wrecked, like everywhere else. There were many private feeding schemes that popped up around the country. There was one incident among many where a truckload of food destined for poor-white squatters was confiscated and the donors arrested. Civic organizations appealed to the Human Rights Commission to stop this idiocy and won a favourable ruling. Ridiculous situation. Luckily, Saffas of all shades are stroppy and can generally see through bullshit. Just recently, the Supreme Court handed down a ruling that declared all the lockdown regulations illegal under our constitution but the govt. is appealing that decision, of course.

I've spent days helping to pack food parcels here as a volunteer. We've also had a big jump in housebreaking and thus all-night community patrols have also been a feature. Things are getting a little ugly, with hospital-grade assaults happening on both sides but we have it under control, for now.
Infection rates are accelerating now, the economy is crumbling further, and this is a volatile and violent country, so we'll see how it all shakes out in the end.

BTW, I've done a fair bit of layman research into the virus, and there's an important aspect concerning BP medication that I would like to share. Firstly, know that Covid-19 is a vascular disease as well as a pulmonary one. The heart attacks and strokes are Covid related as the virus gets into the bloodstream and causes unusual clots.Oxidative stress is what is actually killing people.
ACE2 cells in the body are the (keyhole) receptor cells for the (key-like) S- protein spikes on the virions. Incidentally, the protein spikes are identical to those carried by HIV and so the virus must have gone from bat to pangolin to chimp  at that seafood market but let's not go there or the parts bin. The ACE2 cells are elsewhere in the body besides the lungs and bloodstream, notably the testicles. and wouldn't it be a coincidence if Covid also turns out to be responsible for mass male infertility but anyway.
So what happens with the ACEI class of BP meds, and I think the ARBs as well, is that they express more ACE2 receptor cells and thus more targets for the virus, which is probably not good. However, the flip side is that once the virus has started replicating in the lungs the AECI meds help to protect the vascular system by a separate process I won't go into here. Do your own research about all of this. Medcram is a good source.
The medical consensus around this double-edged sword is one of indecision, basically saying don't change your BP meds for now. Bear in mind the medical establishment is conservative and litigation aware.
In theory, a person could switch meds from AECIs or ARBs to CCBs to control BP (no rebound effect) to reduce the number of ACE2 receptors being expressed and then switch back to AECI for the protective effect if they do get infected anyway. The only problem is the incubation period. But anyway, just wanted to bring this to general attention so anyone on AECI or ARB BP medication can check it out and talk to their doctors if necessary. The jury is very much still out on this one.

One other thing, studies are coming out that indicate, somehow, that cigarette smoking is not an exacerbating factor in the disease. On the contrary, out of a national population of 26% smokers, only 6% of fatalities were smokers. So, improbably, that indicates a protective effect from smoking. I don't smoke and I'm not saying anyone should start, just that smokers don't need to worry additionally, apparently. 

Phew - am I in a write-mood or what...     

Dave
Posts: 1991
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Re: Castle/Warehouses In The Sky

Post by Dave » Mon Jun 08, 2020 8:30 am

Interesting stiff Mark even if indeed I don't understand half of it - especially all the abbreviations and need to do more research

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Mark
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Re: Castle/Warehouses In The Sky

Post by Mark » Mon Jun 08, 2020 2:04 pm

Here's a helpful vid from the source I mentioned. It's aimed at doctors but relatively easy to follow. Note that a number of studies including the hydroxychloroquine one came from some obscure little medical outfit in the USA called Surgisphere and somehow these fake studies became part of WHO policy. Gee whiz, imagine that.
Both the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine and the Lancet in the UK have had to supply retractions about this study from Surgisphere. I see that this disgrace even made it onto the mainstream news. I guess Trump's having the last laugh again.
So I think I read elsewhere that these studies quoted in this vid were part of the Surgisphere bullshit so the video's a little out of date in that regard but you can at least see what the abbreviations stand for and the chemical pathways. The critical issue is whether the added expression of the ACE2 receptor cells increases the risk of SARSCov2 infection or not. No available studies on that yet, to my knowledge. But if you are on ACEI or ARB BP medication, you should check that out with your doctor.
End of Public Service Announcement. 

My sincere apologies for the hijack, Gyppo. Back to the poem. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OudhmwulJHY

 

poet-e
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Re: Castle/Warehouses In The Sky

Post by poet-e » Fri Jun 12, 2020 12:01 pm

So they send plastic bags to recycle/donate clothes?

There's irony in the recycling.

Nice write!

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