Author: somegeektoldme@gmail.com

What I’ve learnt after watching 3,850 minutes of Dragon Ball

On By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Television

I want to talk about Dragon Ball. Why? The reason is because my awesome wife gave me the complete Dragon Ball Saga on DVD for Christmas. I had watched Dragon Ball Z a long time ago, but no other Dragon Ball series regularly since then.

My wife thought it would be a great idea for us to watch them together on Saturday nights, to witness the beginning of the whole story, but also to understand some of the events we had heard about.

So instead of hiring some baby sitters to watch UMC1 and UMC2, and hit some bars, nightclubs and parties on Saturday nights, we stayed at home and watched Dragon Ball. We are that cool.

Image by Anthony Gallon from Pixabay

22 discs, 3,850 minutes, and 153 episodes later, we have finished it. There are so many different things that we have learnt, but since we went into Dragon Ball without a huge amount of knowledge; other than what we have picked up over the last few decades, everything was revealing and entertaining.

Below are 25 of the most craziest, interesting, entertaining, and favourite moments from Dragon Ball, that we have discovered, in no particular order. Also I realise a lot of people would have already seen Dragon Ball, so this list will not be a surprise to some of you; I’m only a few decades late.

WARNING, there are spoilers, so read at your own caution.

1.) Krillin has always been loyal, short and bald.

2.) The craziest building in Dragon Ball, has to be Muscle Tower, the six-story fortress, belonging to General White, of the Red Ribbon Army. When Goku enters it, he encounters mazes, monsters and mayhem.

3.) The original reason Bulma was searching for the Dragon Balls, was for the Eternal Dragon to grant her a boyfriend. Yes, a boyfriend.

4.) The Red Ribbon Army soldiers were under the assumption, that the reason they were searching for the Dragon Balls, was for world domination. The real reason was for Commander Red, the leader of the Red Ribbon Army, to become taller.

5.) DynoCaps are some of the greatest inventions, we have ever seen. Why has someone not invented them for real?

6.) Mercenary Tao’s mode of transportation, is both extremely bad arse and bat-shit crazy.

7.) The origins of some crazy character names: the Red Ribbon Army’s generals were all named after colours; King Piccolo and his Demonic Clan were named after instruments; Goku’ grandfather Gohan, is named after rice; Krillin is named after chestnut; Bulma is named after girls’ gym shorts; and the list just goes on and on.

8.) Goku promised to marry Chi-Chi when they were children, by an innocent mistake; but he still went through with the wedding, when he was older.

9.) Master Roshi is a complicated character: on one hand, he is a gifted martial artist and wise mentor, who cares deeply about his students; however he is one of the worse perverts ever.

10.) The names of some of the finishing moves like Wolf Fang Fist, Four Witches Technique, Devilmite Beam, Solar Flare, Crane Style Assassin Strike, Kamehameha, Explosive Demon Wave, were truly epic.

11.) Krillin’s technique to defeat See-Through, the Invisible Man, was very different. Wow, Bulma will never forgive him for it.

12.) I didn’t know it was possible for anybody to be squeamish, when watching a cartoon, but my wife could not stand the sight and sounds of King Piccolo, coughing up his eggs.

13.) Fortuneteller Baba and Master Roshi were siblings, and their interactions were priceless.

14.) We got to see how the origin of Goku’s power pole and the Flying Nimbus. Roshi would never be worthy of riding the Flying Nimbus again!

15.) At no point, was the location of Goku’s parents, the subject of conversation; by anybody.

16.) My wife and I would start trying to guess the number of episodes a particular fight or mission would last.

17.) The theme song actually tells you, exactly what happens in the show.

18.) The number of episodes the Ox-King’s castle was being destroyed by Fire Mountain’s lava; while the Ox-King was still trapped inside, was truly insane.

19.) The final episodes with the Furnace of Eight Divisions was bonkers, because of what Goku had to do, but also the fact the Furnace actually existed in the first place.

20.) The Devil’s Toilet was the most absurd, yet funniest name for a building in Dragon Ball.

21.) The mystery of Goku’s transformation by the full moon, is never truly resolved.

22.) Launch is very much like Bruce Banner; sometimes the Dragon Team needed Nice Launch, other times, they needed Violent Launch.

23.) The first wish granted by the Eternal Dragon in Dragon Ball, was for Oolong. He wished for a comfortable pair of underwear.

24.) Watching Yajirobe and Korin together was hilarious, because even though Yajirobe was on the support team, he was still a jerk.

25.) The way Goku would determine if someone was a boy or a girl, had us in disbelief and laughter.

There are a lot more things I would like to discuss, but I feel 25 observations of Dragon Ball is enough. We loved watching it; even every single recap of the previous episode. The show is a product of it’s era, but it was outstanding.

From the fights scenes, trash talking, powering up scenes, Roshi and his nose bleeds, Goku being hungry, and Emperor Pilaf and his gang losing yet again, Dragon Ball is a gem; but I would not have it any other way.

Thanks for reading and see you in a few days!

Misadventures in Internet Dating

On By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn People

I want to talk about first dates and internet dating. Why? A friend of mine went on a first date recently and it got me thinking about some of the first dates, I’ve been on. Some were good, some were ok, and some were just shockers.1

Image by athree23 from Pixabay

There were two first dates that I went on, that I can look back on them now and laugh; well try to laugh. This was about 11-12 years ago, and I had joined two dating sites. The reason I joined was because I didn’t travel in the same social circles of single women, and making eye contact with females at the comic shop was vastly discouraged.

I liked internet dating, but I also disliked it for probably the same amount of reasons; I mean, I’m a geek and I wanted to discuss geek related things, but I didn’t want to bore women to death. An example of this, was when after chatting to one woman on a dating site, we agreed to meet at one of my favourite bars.

We were talking about music, movies and television shows, which was great. She asked me what television shows I liked, and I rattled off a few, including Doctor Who. Granted, this was her own fault, but she mentioned that she had heard of the show, but she had never watched it and asked me to explain it.

I’m going to be honest with you, I have no idea how long I talked about Doctor Who for. It could have been 2 minutes or 20 minutes2, but at some point after I allowed unbridled geek culture to fall out of my mouth, I noticed the glazed look in her eyes. I had discussed a two-hearted alien with regeneration capabilities, that travels through space and time in a stolen box; on a first date. Amateur.3

Another classic first date was when I had been chatting to one particular woman for a couple of weeks, so we decided to meet up. Now I’m going to call this woman Lois, purely to make the story entertaining and flow. Lois suggested that we meet at the casino on Thursday night, which was fine by me.

At the time, I lived in the CBD, so the casino was only a 15 minute walk for me. Now I need to point something out; when I would meet someone for a first date, it was usually at a cafe, bar or restaurant. I had never agreed to meet anyone at the casino before, so this really should have been a red flag for me.

When I arrived at the casino, I walked through the main doors, then preceded to go up the stairs to the main foyer, where we had agreed to meet. I was standing there for a few minutes with no one around. It was about this time, my Spidey-Sense was going off.

I was starting to wonder if she could see me and if I’ve been stood up. I decided to wait one more minute then leave, when I heard my name being called. I turned around and there was Lois walking towards me. We introduced ourselves, which was about the same time, when I noticed something was very odd about Lois.

It could have been my imagination, but I was getting the distinct impression that she was drunk. We had agreed to meet at 6:30 pm, so the notion of someone being drunk at that time, as well as being on a first date, was extremely weird.

Now we’re standing in the middle of the foyer, still talking; we haven’t moved to the bar. It was at that time that I finally noticed that Lois had a glass of wine in her right hand, and her phone was in her left.

Lois then started apologising about the situation, which went something like this: Earlier on that day, someone offered to buy Lois’ business. The business was a hair cutting salon and Lois was quite surprised about this, because it wasn’t for sale.

She had explained to me that this particular person had offered a huge amount of money for the business, but there was a catch; she needed to make a decision before 7.00 pm that day. I asked her why was it such a short deadline?; why wasn’t she given more time to think about it?

The answer went along the lines of the businessman liked to buy and own hair-dressing salons, so they can join his hair-dressing empire. He needed to make the deal as fast as possible, because he was flying back to Auckland the next day.

I’m hearing this story and my Spidey-Sense has just gone off again. I’m thinking this is situation is bonkers; I don’t know what I’ve stepped into here, but this just seems mental.

Now the apology part was the fact that she was drunk. Lois told me that she was so stressed about her decision, that she needed to drink to think about the problem. The issue was that she said it’s a huge amount of money and with that money, she could invest in another businesses or go overseas or do whatever she wanted to do. However she went on to explain, that she previously had no intention of selling the business, because it was doing so well.

This was the conundrum; to sell or not to sell, but the answer was to drink.

I was thinking about what would I do if I was in her position, and someone had offered to buy my business extremely quickly for a huge amount of money. I would probably have a couple of drinks and be stressed about it too.

However, the one factor in this whole equation I didn’t understand, was that why she had agreed to go on this date with me. I mean, Lois could have said she couldn’t make it and she’s really sorry. That would have been ok. But I didn’t understand why she went through with the date, if she had all these personal issues happening to her.

I know personal issues can happen to anybody, at any time. I understand that and I can probably relate to that, but it was the fact that the sale of your business would be extremely important.

However badly the date was going, it was going to get worse. As Lois has been telling me about her situation, her phone started ringing. She looked at it and said “Oh no. I’m really sorry, but I’ve got to take this call.” So Lois walked off to the side to have a conversation. I assumed it was the businessman, whom was inquiring about the business proposal. Oh how wrong I was, I was so, so wrong!

As I was standing there, Lois began shouting. Not just myself, but other people around her could tell she was in a very heated argument. At this time, I was thinking if this was the businessman, it can’t be going well.

Four minutes go by, and Lois ends the phone call. She walks over to me to give another apology. Lois was apologising for the conversation, she just had with her boyfriend. Yes, her boyfriend.

Lois went on to say that he gets like this, as in jealous and angry; when she goes on dates with other men. It’s cliche to say, but it was at that precise time when I realised what a train wreck of a night this was turning into.

Lois apologises and informs me that her boyfriend is going to be here in under 10 minutes, to pick her up and take her home. Now I hear this and I’m thinking that I need to leave. I need to go home. This is a disaster, so cut your losses and go home.

The problem was that I felt like I was a character in the story, and I wanted to see how this would play out. I mean, this was just nonsense. It was just crazy. I just wanted to go home, but there was another part of me, that was quite fascinated with this train wreck of a night, that I needed to see how it would end.

So with that, the die was cast and I decided to stay. I realised I haven’t done anything wrong, I had no idea Lois had a boyfriend. So to me, I’m in the clear and the thing was, if the boyfriend was going to start anything or do anything to me, I felt I was going to be ok, because there were security guards everywhere. It was a casino after all.

So we talked in the foyer about jobs and interests, basically waiting for the boyfriend to arrive. I think it was about 15 minutes later when he appeared. When he turned up, I could tell it was him, because I saw a guy coming up the stairs and he looked pissed. It was like I was staring at an angry cartoon character, that had been brought to life.

After completing a quick scan of the foyer, the boyfriend walked straight towards us. I mentioned to Lois that it looked like her boyfriend was here. She turned around and quickly walked towards him. What happened next with absolutely insane.

The two of them started yelling and swearing at each other. The argument escalated extremely quickly, because after 45 seconds, there are two security guards talking to them.

While this was unravelling, I was still standing there, watching this apocalyptic mess. After yelling at each other, Lois and the boyfriend started yelling at the security guards, and it was at this point, more security guards were called over. The result was both of them were escorted out of the casino. I stood there watching the whole thing, not fully believing or accepting what had just happened.

After ordering a bourbon and cola, and drinking that beautiful reward, I decided that I was going home. When I got there, I told my flatmate all about it, to which she laughed and said she had a prediction for me.

She said that she knew a few people like Lois, and then she predicted that the next day, I was going to be contacted by Lois to arrange a second date. I told her that was just mental and that wasn’t going to happen, to the extent we bet some house cleaning duties on it.

And so, the next day I received an email from Lois apologising for the previous night. She was very sorry that we didn’t get to talk more, but she was hoping we could arrange another date. When I was reading the email, I wasn’t thinking of how I was politely going to say no, but the idea of the extra household cleaning duties I was going to have to do now.

I hope this was entertaining for you, because it’s funny to me now. Do you have any funny experiences through internet dating? If you do, please let me know. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you in a few days.

1 I need to point out, for all I know, I’m one of the world’s worst first daters.

2 Time is very much relative.

3 My wife can actually handle my geek rants. That’s why she’s my wife.

One Punch man: A guilty pleasure

On By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Comics, Television

I want to talk about One Punch Man. Why? Because I’ve fallen in love with the series and not ashamed to admit it. It’s become a guilty pleasure of mine now, for better or worse. For those people out there that have never heard of One Punch Man; 1.) I’m sorry to hear that, and 2.) I’ll explain what it’s all about.

The story of One Punch Man started off as a webcomic, then transitioned to magna (print) anime (television) video games and a live action movie, which is being developed. One Punch Man was created by ONE1 and Yusuke Murata; while the manga has sold over 30 million copies and has been translated into several different languages.

Image by Some Geek Told Me

So, who or what exactly is One Punch Man? One Punch Man follows the story of a man named Saitama, that has trained and developed his body to a point that he has become so absurdly strong, that he can defeat any opponent with only one punch. He has also gained super speed and invulnerability through his training.

For his training, Saitama spent three years completing the same daily fitness workout: 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats, a 10 km run, as well eating healthy food, and not using the air conditioner or heater to reinforce his mental toughness. This training regime transformed Saitama into quite possibly, the strongest person in the world, but at the cost of his hair falling out, and slowly being disconnected from emotions.

There are many more facets about Saitama and his world, that I could explain to you, but I feel a lot of that can be found on other websites. Because of this, I want to talk about why I actually like this series, whether it’s the manga or anime.

I have the first 21 volumes of the manga, while the 22nd and 23rd volumes are still on pre-order for me. I have also watched both seasons of the anime, so I can come at this from both mediums. It’s just so much fun and entertaining! To me it’s just a guilty pleasure, it’s just so much fun.

I love how Saitama has deep and philosophical questions about himself, his role as a hero, as well as his place in the world. I find this very refreshing to see this coming from a protagonist, because Saitama is actually a complex character. He’s bored and he’s trying to find some adventure and bring meaning to his life. I think that’s awesome, I really do.

Another thing I love about the series; regardless if we talking about the manga or anime, is the fact that there are strong background characters. I mean, they really are amazing. There could be many spinoffs from these characters. I mean, I would love to have a backstory for Speed-o’-Sound Sonic; or for some of the Class S heroes, especially Pig God.

I also love the ranking system for the heroes, which I feel is very original and quite innovating, because it shows you superheroes from a completely different prospective and in my humble opinion; it works, it really works.

I don’t know if the ranking system could have been pulled off in American comics, because it would possibly come off as nonsensical. However, I think this is one of the advantages manga has over American and Western comics.

Sorry, I just love this series. Whenever I get a new volume, I try to make it a priority and read it within the first week; but usually, I go back and read the previous volume beforehand. This is because, it could have been four-eight months since I read the series, so it’s better to refresh myself with the story again.

I love how with the Class S heroes, everyone is quite different and they all have various motivations; and since I’ve already mentioned him, take Pig God for example. From what I have read and seen about him, he defeats his villains by eating them; that’s completely horrifying and hilarious at the same time.

Also there’s Puri-Puri Prisoner; he’s an amazing character because of his Angel Style fighting move, which can only be performed naked and the fact that he has a harem of men. He likes being in prison, because he’s closer to his “honies”. He is wickedly funny.

This series is so much fun, it’s rare for me to be reading something that makes me laugh so much. The series is so hilarious and it works, because Saitama is not a serious character, but Genos is. I feel the fact that these two have become heroes for different reasons, actually works in their favour, when working together. They are actually learning from each other.

There have been some magnificent scenes in the series, but I think one of best ones, is the practice fight between Saitama and Genos, especially in the anime. Reading it in the manga was brilliant, but to see it translated into anime, was simply just awe inspiring; it seriously was.

It was one of the coolest fight scenes I have ever witnessed; at one point Genos was fighting Saitama’s after images, and then displaying just how unbelievably and ridiculously overpowered Saitama is, his non-connecting thrown punch caused mountains to be smashed. It’s absurd and awesome at the same time. I can’t say enough about this series, I love it, I really really love it.

I feel that One Punch Man; just like Invincible, has added something to the superhero genre. The dialogue is funny, the art is exquisite and you can’t but help root for Saitama; not just to win, but because you are watching his internal growth.

One Punch Man is more than a comical or superhero spoof, it’s intelligent and it’s also very hilarious. This could be very naive of me to say, but I feel this series can make a lot of people happy.

And isn’t that the reason for storytelling; to make people think about things and themselves, but also to be entertained and One Punch Man does this. It doesn’t matter how long this series exists, I’m in for the long haul.

I can’t forget to mention about everybody’s fighting styles. Some of these are the best sounding names, this side of the Dragon Ball Saga. Lion Slash Meteor Shower, Tank Top Tackle, Void Shaking Tiger Fist, Hell Storm, and Collapsing Star Roaring Cannon, are just some of the epic fighting styles.

I think when it comes to One Punch Man, Saitama has become one of the new faces of superheroes in the 21st century; along with Class S, Class A, Class B, Class C heroes, and the monsters too.

I also think it would be a mistake for me to not discuss Mumen Rider. I think he is Class C, Rank 1 and to me, I think he is one of the most outstanding characters in the series.

This is because he has no powers; he is a rider for justice! When he turns up for a fight, he’s got his bicycle helmet, goggles and his bike, and that’s it. He get his arse kicked very single time, but that’s not what I like about him.

The reason is that they’ve created a character, that whenever there is someone that needs help, or if there is a crisis, Mumen Rider is usually the first person to put his hand up or the first person to turn up. Even though he is going to lose, he still turns up, which is actually extremely heroic.

One Punch Man is a series I only discovered 3 years ago, but it’s now become one of the greatest titles in my reading diet. If you have already read or seen One Punch Man, let me know. If you haven’t, do yourself a favour and correct that mistake.

Thanks for reading and I’ll see you soon.

1 ONE originally created the webcomic, then Murata came on board as the artist for the manga.

Three of the best underrated science fiction films ever

On By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Movies6 Comments

I want to talk about science fiction films, in particular, underrated films. Why? Because I love underrated projects in mediums like film, comics, novels, etc. They can be diamonds in a cart full of coal, and they can stay with you a lot longer than a successful mainstream version.

I’m a geek, so I want to celebrate and highlight underrated films across different genres, so I’ve selected science fiction to start with, because…well…it’s sci-fi, why the hell not?! Maybe you have seen or heard about these films or maybe you haven’t. Maybe you would agree with me; if you were to make a list of underrated science fiction films, what would you choose?

Also a film being classified as underrated; at least to me, can cover lower box office earnings, winning little or no awards, conflicting receptions to the film; but still be an amazing science fiction film.

In addition to this, films within sci-fi franchises will not be considered, because they could fall under their own list. I’ve also listed them in chronological order of release. Clear as mud? Awesome, let’s do this, without giving away too many spoilers!

Image by Reimund Bertrams from Pixabay

1.) The Quiet Earth (1985)

I have to admit, I am a little bias here, because my first selection is a New Zealand film. The Quiet Earth was released in 1985 and it was directed by Geoff Murphy, of Young Guns II, Under Siege 2: Dark Territory, and XXX: State of the Union fame. The film is based on the book of the same name, written by Craig Harrison.

A quick summary of the film, is that one day a scientist named Zac Hobson (Bruno Lawrence) wakes up to discover, that potentially, he is the last human on Earth. Hobson can find no trace of any humans; alive or dead, so he needs to try and figure out what has happened to the human race, and whether his research is linked to the disappearances or not. Hobson also has to grapple with the concept of being the last human on Earth; hence the title. There are other things within the film going on, but…spoilers!

The Quiet Earth is not a traditionally 1980’s science fiction film about space battles, alien worlds, or futuristic cities. It’s set in 1985, New Zealand, along with everything that was crazy about the 80’s, that goes with it. As a New Zealander, I can’t but smile about it.

I feel because of the above reasons, The Quiet Earth is quite often over looked in the science fiction genre. It’s a shame, because the film’s good. Really good, because it’s a slow burner. As the viewer, you are learning about what happened, at the same rate Hobson is.

There is no CGI (it’s 1985, not 2015), there are not dozens of different actors; just one guy trying not to go crazy at the concept of being the last human of Earth. It’s character driven, along with the notion of science pushing boundaries, because of society’s need for more resources.

And as the ending, it’s famous because of the music, the gorgeous imagery, and the feeling of, “I don’t know what I’m looking at or what has happened, but it’s so beautiful!”

Seriously, if you have never seen The Quiet Earth, please correct that mistake as fast as you can. You won’t regret it.

2.) Enemy Mine (1985)

I don’t quite remember how or where I saw Enemy Mine, but I remember the impact it had on me as a kid. Enemy Mine was released in 1985 and directed by Wolfgang Petersen. The two main actors were Dennis Quaid and Louis Gossett, Jr, and the film had a budget of US$29 million, while box office takings were US$12.3 million.

Enemy Mine was set sometime during the 21st century, where humans and an alien race called the Dracs, were at war. One day, Willis E. Davidge (Dennis Quaid), a human pilot and Jeriba Shigan (Louis Gossett, Jr.) a Drac pilot, were engaged in a space battle, when both spaceships are damaged, where they land on a hostile world.

The two pilots have to work together, in order to survive the horrible environment, as well as overcoming their own hatred from each other and their species. As the movie progresses, there are many obstacles to their survival and freedom. I’m trying not to include spoilers here, but the third act of the film; at least to me, is where the core of the film rests.

I had always thought Gossett, Jr’s portrayal of Jeriba Shigan; was outstanding. From his alien speech, movements, mannerisms, costume, and make up, it left me thinking this was a very believable alien, by Hollywood standards of course.

I think one of the reasons Enemy Mine is underrated, is because of it’s poor box office performance. However in it’s defence, Enemy Mine was released in the same month as Hollywood heavyweight films like Spies Like Us, The Jewel of the Nile, The Colour Purple, and Out of Africa. Enemy Mine came in over budget and was lost in the 1985 December cinematic carnage.

It’s difficult to discuss more of the film, without talking about spoilers, but let’s just say, once upon a time, Hollywood gave us a science fiction film with the perfect balance of special effects, set designs, evolving characters and an ending, that may bring a tear to your eye. Do yourself a favour, go out and watch Enemy Mine.

3.) Primer (2004)

Primer is one of these films, that lives between science fiction and possible believable Hollywood science. What if time travel was actually possible and it was discovered by a happy accident? Primer was released in 2004, and it was directed, written, produced, edited and starred Shane Carruth; he also did the music as well.

The budget for Primer was US$7,000 and the box office performance was US$841,926. However, at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival, Primer won the Grand Jury Prize. The film centres around two engineers, that while working on a garage project, they accidently create a way to time travel. After some tweaking of the design, the two engineers can travel back in time for 6 hours for money making purposes, only to discover things are not that simple.

Over the years, Primer has become a cult film, because of the various aspects that mark this film different, from other time travelling films. To me, it’s one of the best believable time travelling films I have ever seen.

It’s underrated for many reasons; poor box office performance, a low budget and no big-time stars attached to the project. However; again only to me, I think that’s why it works. The plot is simple, but the huge amount of closed loop time travel used, means past, present and future versions of characters are walking around, causing untold shenanigans. Sorry, spoilers!

The implications of the time travelling engineers, brings up a lot of scientific and technical terminology, moral and ethic questions, but also the notion that if time travel was possible, would you use it to change your life? And if you did, how would you know if someone else has not already messed with your timeline?

Primer is a dangerously underrated science fiction film, because it has taken a simple concept of fictional time travel, and built twists and turns into it; along with the idea that the first people to ever time travel, were not exactly good people. This film is seriously amazing, so please watch it.

All of the three films that I have mentioned here, deserve a lot more attention and credit, than they have received. They all rock in different ways, but they all help push the boundaries and assumptions on what makes a great science fiction film. The Quiet Earth, Enemy Mine and Primer. Remember their names, because after you’ve seen them, you won’t forget them.

Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next week.

Lockdown Edition: Part 5

On By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn People, Science

I want to talk about face masks. Why? Because after at least 18 months, a face mask of all things, has become a political symbol. The thing is, you already know this. You’ve read about it, heard about it, and quite honestly have talked about it.

All around the globe, mask wearing has been a hot button subject, and I feel a lot of the discussions about them has been centred on the science fact vs science fantasy debate. Do masks actually work? By wearing a mask, can it reduce the risk of you contracting COVID-19? The answer to both of these questions is yes.

There are several myths surrounding the COVID-19 vaccines, which I took apart in my previous blogs. It’s interesting to note that a lot of anti-vaxxers, are also against wearing face masks; whether it’s for religious, political, moral or scientific reasons. So now it’s time for some mask wearing facts!

Image by Please support me! Thank you! from Pixabay

FACT 1: Wearing a mask, is one of the best ways to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

FACT 2: You can not reinfect yourself with COVID-19, by wearing a mask.

FACT 3: Wearing a face mask, does not decrease your oxygen levels.

FACT 4: Even if you don’t have any COVID-19 symptoms, you should still wear a mask.

FACT 5: You don’t need to mock and ridicule anybody, for wearing a face mask.

FACT 6: COVID-19 precautions like hand washing and social distancing, should still be used along with mask wearing.

FACT 7: Cloth face masks can still protect you from COVID-19.

FACT 8: Your carbon dioxide levels will not increase, when using a face mask.

FACT 9: Wearing a face mask, protects the wearer and the people around them.

FACT 10: Wearing a face mask, will not weaken your immune system.

FACT 11: By wearing a face mask, does not mean you will develop pneumonia.

FACT 12: A child wearing a face mask, is not abuse; it’s actually sensible parenting.

FACT 13: A face mask is only effective, as long your nose and mouth are covered.

FACT 14: Even if you are vaccinated, you should still wear a mask.

FACT 15: You don’t need to wear a face mask while exercising.

FACT 16: As the designated shopper for my house, I had the joy of going to the supermarket during lockdown. While I was there, I noticed a lot of single guys; with their white bread, pies and beer filled trollies, testing out a new flirting technique: “Hey, I like your mask,” hoping a conversation could flow from there.

As opening lines go, it’s better than, “Did it hurt when you fell from heaven, because you’re an angel,” but not as good as, “Falling in love with you takes less time than my DNA takes to replicate.”

If you have the opportunity to wear a mask, please do it. Not just for yourself, but for the people around you. The science behind face masks is rock solid, so please be brave and wear a face mask.

We are currently at Level 2 with our national lockdown, with some other regions still at the highest level, which is Level 4. That being the case, this is my last lockdown post, until we have another one. Maybe. Until then, I’ll return to my regular scheduled programming of geeky content.

Until then, mask up, get a vaccine, wash your hands, and look after yourselves and your families.

Thanks for reading and I’ll see you in a few days!

Lockdown Edition: Part 4

On By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn People, Science

We are still in lockdown currently in New Zealand, though we are slowly moving down the levels. Sadly, this means that COVID-19 vaccine myths are still floating around on social media and across the dinner table. In my last blog, I looked at some of the insanity surrounding five COVID-19 vaccine myths, so today I aim to finish what I started with five more.

Image by hakan german from Pixabay

Myth 6: The COVID-19 vaccine is making people magnetic.

Reality: I want you to really think about this; people are claiming that a vaccine is giving them magnetic powers. Now if Magento or Doctor Polaris were claiming this, my reply would be, “How could you tell?”

Human magnetism; it sounds like the next step in human evolution, but it’s not. There have been numerous people involved with articles, photographs and video footage, around this subject. They are claiming that after they have received the COVID-19 vaccine (I don’t think it’s been cleared up which one they are talking about), metal objects like phones, spoons, knives, forks, etc, can now stick to their body.

I saw some hilarious footage in America, with people standing up in court to testify that the COVID-19 vaccine had made them magnetic, because of microchips in the vaccine or some other insane reason.

Let’s clear this up quickly, not a single case of magnetism has been found, by someone receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. It’s not possible.

To clarify:

  • There are no metallic, microelectronics or magnetic materials in the vaccines.
  • There is nothing in the vaccine that can produce the electromagnetic force, at the vaccination point or in your body.
  • A dose of the COVID-19 vaccine is usually less than a millilitre, which means the shot is too small to carry a microchip.
  • You have iron in your blood, but it’s not ferromagnetic; which means it’s not receptive to magnetism. This means it can’t build or interact with an electromagnetic force field.
  • If you were a human magnet, only steel or iron objects would be an attracted to your body, not silver ones, like in the anti-vaxxer videos.

To me, this myth is utter garbage, so please ignore it.

Myth 7: The COVID-19 vaccine makes women infertile.

Reality: The old anti-vaxxer crazy train, is breaking new ground now. Apparently, thousands of women across the world, have been made infertile by receiving the COVID-19 vaccine; in addition to the claim that a woman could be made infertile, simply by standing next to a vaccinated person. Really?

I believe these misinformed people think that while different drug companies have been developing the vaccines, they never thought about testing pregnant women?! Really?

Throughout the different vaccine trials and phases, pregnant women, women that are trying to conceive and those that are breastfeeding were studied, and no adverse effects on fertility were seen. Source: Celine Gounder, an infectious disease specialist at NYU and Bellevue Hospital.

The COVID-19 vaccine does not cause infertility in women. If it did, it would not have been approved by medical authorities for public use.

Myth 8: The COVID-19 vaccine gives you COVID-19.

Reality: Anti-vaxxers want you to believe that by receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, you are actually having the virus injected into you, so then, you’ll get sick.

Some COVID-19 vaccines do contain an inactivated or weakened version of the virus, to stimulate your immune system, however you can’t catch COVID-19 from this. mRNA vaccines like Pfizer, do not have any live or dead strains of COVID-19. You can not contract COVID-19 from a COVID-19 vaccine. This is nonsense, once again.

Myth 9: People that are vaccinated are catching COVID-19, proving the vaccines don’t work.

Reality: Let’s break this statement down; firstly, the notion that some people that have been partly or fully vaccinated, have contracted COVID-19, is actually true. It is.

However the problem with this is not calling the efficacy of the vaccines into question, but rather explaining how vaccinated people can contract COVID-19. These people are called breakthrough cases, and the reasons why this happens, can be quite varied.

No vaccine is 100% proof, so the vaccine is different from one person to the next, in terms of their immune system and immune response. Your immune response can be weakened or boosted by medications, age and overall health, and people with a weakened immune system, do have a higher chance of becoming a breakthrough case.

Having a COVID-19 vaccine does not make you 100% bullet proof against COVID-19, but it can lower the risks of you being infected, supported by social distancing, mask wearing, wash handing and using sanitisers. The largest group in the community that has the greatest risk for transmission for the virus are the unvaccinated. It’s a simple, but tragic fact.

If 100 people were exposed to COVID-19, it means that 80-90 vaccinated people, would not get any symptoms, but 10-20 people may get symptoms, with 5 people needing hospitalisation. The COVID-19 vaccines actually do work.

Myth 10: People are dying after receiving the COVID-19 vaccines.

Reality: It’s true, there has been reports of some people that have received the COVID-19 vaccine have died, but correlation doesn’t equal causation. An example of this issue is the serial killer scenario. Let’s say serial killers prefer to kill people during summer or hotter months. This might mean, that during this period serial killers would eat ice cream as a treat; therefore we can link serial killers and ice cream! Eating ice cream turns you into a serial killer!

But eating ice cream does not turn you into a serial killer, just the same as people dying after their vaccination, does not mean the vaccine killed them. You could discover that 500 people were vaccinated over 24 hours in your home town. After a week, you track them all down to gauge the effects of the vaccination, only to discover that 5 people have died.

You assume that the one thing they all had in common was the vaccination, so you assume that the vaccine killed them, because they died after the vaccination was given to them. However, you later learn that two people were killed in car accident, one person had a heart attack, one person drowned and one person was shot.

It’s true, all five people died after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine, but the vaccine did not kill them. They could have died for any reason, especially if there was an underling health issue. Correlation does not equal causation.

Conclusion: Vaccinations, in my small and humble opinion, could quite possibly be the single greatest invention in human history and also the world’s best tool to eradicate diseases, that cause avoidable deaths in children and adults.

Basically, you don’t get the COVID-19 vaccine for yourself; you get it for your grandparents, your children, the people that are immune compromised or people for other medical reasons, that can not take the vaccine. You get the vaccine to protect other people, like others are doing it for you. By protecting other people, you protect yourself. Any 1980’s Saturday morning cartoon character could tell you that.

I received my first COVID-19 vaccination on Sunday 5th September, which was Father’s Day. It was a Father’s Day present, but it wasn’t for me; it was for UMC1 and UMC2. Also, I have not gained magnetic powers; big surprise there!

If you are unsure about the vaccine, please go and talk to your doctor about your vaccine concerns. It’s alright to have concerns about the vaccine, but please talk to a medical professional about it.

I think the COVID-19 vaccines are miracles, but that’s just my geeky opinion. For the next blog, I’m going to debunk the myths surrounding masks, because the anti-vaxxers are not staying in their lane.

Until then, mask up, get a vaccine, wash your hands, and look after yourselves and your families.

Thanks for reading and I’ll see you in a few days!

Lockdown Edition: Part 3

On By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn People, Science

I want to talk about COVID-19 vaccines. Why? Because currently in New Zealand, just like many other countries around the globe, we are facing a SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant or Delta Variant outbreak. Our vaccinations rates have been low, due to the staggered rollout, but the good news is that they are increasing every day. I’m booked in for my first of two vaccinations on Sunday 5th September, so I’m actually excited about this.1

At the time of writing this blog, our rates are as such:

Source: Department of Health, New Zealand Government

Like I said, these rates are low, however they are getting better. Now for the bad news (dramatic music would play here), the number of anti-vaxxers are growing, locally and nationally. When I went to a clinic, a few months ago for my yearly influenza vaccination, I got chatting to one of doctors about the COVID-19 vaccine rollout and its progress for the region.

The doctor told me that it was not going well, because of the large number of anti-vaxxers that were campaigning against the vaccine. The doctor also said the anti-vaxxers’ online misinformation, along with their protests and meetings, were placing seeds of doubt into people’s minds, thus making them more hesitant about receiving the vaccine.

The doctor added that the DHB (District Health Board) were going to have to find a way to push back against the anti-vaxxers, otherwise hundreds, if not thousands of people, will refuse to receive the vaccine, which will put more people at risk.

I will be honest with you; anti-vaxxers are in my top five worse conspiracy theorists, along with flat earthers, evolution deniers, climate change deniers and holocaust deniers. They upset me. Misinformation and disinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine seem to be on the rise in New Zealand and throughout the world, so I wanted clear up some myths and misconceptions about the vaccine.

I’ll tackle five myths in this blog and another five myths in the next blog, because my kids are asking if I can play their 500th game of Hide-in-Seek with them. I mean, who would want to write a blog about COVID-19 vaccines, when you could be playing Hide-in-Seek in lockdown for the 500th time?!

Image by torstensimon from Pixabay

Myth 1: There is only one COVID-19 vaccine.

Reality: There are several COVID-19 vaccines that have been developed by different companies. They include Pfizer/BioNTech, AstraZeneca, Moderna, Janssen, Covaxin, and Novavax to name a few. New Zealand is primarily using the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.

Myth 2: The vaccine’s side effects are terrible and it’s not safe.

Reality: To start with, no medicine, drug or vaccine is 100% safe for 100% of the population. People can have different rare side effects or reactions to certain medicine, while other people do not. Every medicine that you take is a risk, but you take a risk every time you drive a car, eat an apple or walk across the road. There are risks with any medicine or vaccines, but the risks always outweigh the benefits.

The best or worse example of this, is the late great, Bruce Lee. He died from an edema in the brain, caused by having a reaction with Equagesic, a prescription painkiller, which contained both aspirin and the tranquilizer meprobamate.

Some common side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine include:

  • pain or swelling at the injection site
  • feeling tired or fatigued
  • headache
  • muscle aches
  • chills
  • joint pain
  • fever
  • redness at the injection site
  • nausea

Source: Department of Health, New Zealand Government

In the clinical trials, uncommon side effects were reported in every 1 in 100 to 1 in 1,000 people. These include:

  • enlarged lymph nodes
  • feeling unwell
  • pain in limb
  • insomnia
  • itching at injection site

Source: Department of Health, New Zealand Government

For rare side effects, temporary one-sided facial drooping and temporary inflammation of the heart wall (myocarditis) have been reported as rare side effects, affecting every 1 in 1,000 to 1 in 10,000 people.

Source: Department of Health, New Zealand Government

Myth 3: The vaccine has been rushed and has not been tested.

Reality: It’s unfair to say these vaccines have been rushed; it’s more like they have been fast tracked. The researchers and scientists that have developed the different vaccines, have not cut corners in their development, in terms of safety.

Research funds were released for such a crisis, which has meant vaccine development was given a top priority for the world’s population. Even if some company is reckless with their vaccine development, the vaccine still has to pass a country’s vaccine medical authority, which is usually an organisation or agency, and not a business.

For New Zealand, that agency is Medsafe, and the Pfizer/BioNTech has met their standards and passed. Independent studies have researched the vaccines through trials and phases, and they will continue to be studied for safety and effectiveness.

Myth 4: The vaccine has microchips in it, so the government can track you.

Reality: Not a single COVID-19 vaccine has been developed to contain microchips, to track the public. Seriously, this is absurd. Governments and large technology companies don’t need to track us, by inserting microchips into vaccines; they are already tracking you through your smartphone and computer.

Myth 5: The vaccine can change your DNA.

Reality: No COVID-19 vaccine can rewrite or change your DNA. The various vaccines have been developed in different ways.

  • Inactivated or weakened virus vaccines, which use a form of the virus that has been inactivated or weakened so it doesn’t cause disease, but still generates an immune response. (Covaxin)
  • Protein-based vaccines, which use harmless fragments of proteins or protein shells that mimic the COVID-19 virus to safely generate an immune response.
  • Viral vector vaccines, which use a safe virus that cannot cause disease but serves as a platform to produce coronavirus proteins to generate an immune response. (AstraZeneca and Janssen).
  • RNA and DNA vaccines, a cutting-edge approach that uses genetically engineered RNA or DNA to generate a protein that itself safely prompts an immune response. (Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna and Novavax).

Source: World Health Organization

This DNA changing myth has spread from the vaccines using RNA (mRNA) like Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna and Novavax. Also known as Deoxyribonucleic acid, DNA is a molecule that resides in the nucleus of cells. It contains coded information that regulates the maintenance and growth of living organisms; and it’s the shape of a double helix.

mRNA vaccines send instructions to your body, to create an immune response to fight COVID-19. At no point does the mRNA vaccines interact or affect your DNA; it’s physically impossible. The mRNA vaccine teaches your cell on how to create special proteins that activate your immune system; it never enters the nucleus of the cell, where DNA is stored.

Now I’ll tackle the remaining five myths about the COVID-19 vaccine in the next blog post.

Until then, mask up, get a vaccine, wash your hands, and look after yourselves and your families.

Thanks for reading and I’ll see you in a few days!

1 I’m a geek, so what would you expect?

Lockdown Edition: Part 2

On By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn People, Science

Lockdown, lockdown, lockdown. I think this second national lockdown is bringing out some interesting behaviour in people; though it’s not limited to humans. I’ll do my best to explain, but since I’m on lockdown time, things will get done, when they get done.

I love that during lockdown, the highlight of your day, could be a solo trip to the supermarket. Whether it’s for some small or large items, you mask up and off you go. It’s so satisfying and so sad at the same time, though. It’s a strange feeling being the designated shopper, because to me, it’s like you’re being rewarded and punished altogether.

The days are starting to merge into each together, so the only way to identify any of them, is to mark Wednesday on the calendar, which is bin day. The arrival of the rubbish and recycling trucks has fast become a weekly highlight to our household, as well as other homes.

Beady eyed children can be seen peering through their windows, staring at the trucks; along with their parents. Previously, the arrival of the trucks would have escaped the attention of a lot of parents, but now they are just as excited to witness the trucks appear, as their children.

Speaking of windows, I have tried very hard to raise my kids to not judge people by their appearance. Whether it’s by their gender, religion, race, you name it, we have discussed it. That policy is in the bin, thanks to lockdown.

We all eat lunch by the front window now, passing the time and some type of judgment on anything or anyone we see now. It could be their shoes, car, hair, jacket or even a dog; the family that judges together, stays together. This is our new form of entertainment.

I’ve also noticed a few odd things during lockdown in my house. One is that my house has slowly turned into a museum of Lego and Duplo projects. There are space shuttles, space probes and starships in the hallway; fire engines and police cars under the table; a train outside the bathroom; a construction site in the boys’ room; a submarine and a dump truck in the kitchen; and for some unknown reason, there is a postie that is sitting on a flying pizza delivery motorcycle, on my bedside cabinet.

Apparently UMC1 and UMC2 are not claiming ownership of these vehicles, but I am not allowed to move them, in case the owner or owners came back. Seriously, these projects are driving me crazy, because I feel like I’m Godzilla that has to walk carefully through a city, so I don’t destroy anything.

Another problem is that the couch in the lounge keeps exploding every 15 minutes, but luckily it’s only the cushions that end up on the floor, and nobody has been injured yet. In a totally unrelated matter, UMC1 and UMC2 have informed me that the floor in the lounge has sadly turned into lava. I had no idea my house was a prime location for convection, since the house was so obviously been built over a hot spot.

How do you judge success? During this lockdown, it’s just making everybody get out of their pyjamas before 11am; the beds get actually made; everybody gets fed; teeth get brushed; nobody gets divorced; and the dog gets a walk. The bar is set very low indeed.

ZOOM calls can be a bit dicey at the moment. I feel conflicted about having ZOOM meetings and calls, while sometimes wearing pyjama pants. Also, have you ever tried to take a ZOOM meeting or a call, with two children under 7 years old in the house?

It takes a lot of self control, not to bury my head in my hands during a ZOOM session, when my youngest son enters into the room to proclaim that he has removed his underwear, because he is now a rocket sensor, and rocket sensors don’t wear underwear.

He then flings his undies at me, to stress how serious he is about not wearing underwear. I have no idea about what exactly is a rocket sensor; but we have introduced a new rule in the house: Even rocket sensors have to wear underwear.

Image by J Garget from Pixabay

New Zealand society is also starting to change and an example of this are the cats. Yes, you heard me correctly, the cats. I live in a cul-de-sac that does not get a huge amount of traffic. Because of this, the cats in the neighbourhood tend to wander about, wherever they want…because they’re cats.

The thing is, since we have gone into lockdown, the cat population has become seriously more assertive. Instead of a cat visiting our property once every three days, we are getting three-four cats, every single day. Our dog is enjoying chasing them away, though to be fair, during lockdown he is unofficially off duty.

The cats are now sitting on the footpath and the road like they have claimed everything. Some of them stretch out and to go sleep. They are everywhere. If you were walking on the footpath and met a cat before lockdown, they would quickly get up and run away.

Not now though. Now, if you are walking along the footpath and encounter a cat, they refuse to move. Whether you step round them or step over them, they will not move. Even if a cat is sitting in the middle of the road, and a car is driven towards them, they will not move. It’s almost like they are saying “You want me to move? Come and make me.”

I’m not sure if it’s because the cats are slowly taking over the neighbourhood or they are just sick of lockdown and they don’t want to spend extra time with their families. I’m not intelligent enough to know the answer.

In addition to this, we have an issue at multiple supermarkets across the country. Some supermarkets have been running out of toilet paper and it’s getting that bad, some stores are restricting one bag of toilet paper per customer. I can think of only two reasons for the shortage: Either the entire population of New Zealand have diarrhoea or people are stockpiling toilet paper, because they’re selfish; and I don’t know which scenario is worse.

I have also noticed the rise in anti-vaxxing and anti-mask content, both locally and nationally. Because these two delightful little misinformed groups have actually managed to push my science literacy buttons, I’m going to donate the next two blog posts addressing myths and claims surrounding mask wearing and COVID-19 vaccines.

Until then, mask up, get a vaccine, wash your hands, and look after yourselves and your families.

Thanks for reading and I’ll see you in a few days!

Lockdown Edition: Part 1

On By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn People, Science

At the time I’m writing this blog post, we have entered our second national lockdown, because of the appearance of the COVID-19 Delta Variant within the community. Now I’m not going to talk about the dangers of the Delta Variant or the need for higher vaccination rates. That could be an entire blog post by itself!

What I really want to talk about are the people that are helping, which is actually everybody. Sorry, this is basically a long overdue thank you letter. I realise many other people have done this before, but I still want to say thank you.

Image by Klaus Hausmann from Pixabay

Thank you to the scientists and researchers that have dedicated hundreds of hours in developing COVID-19 vaccines.

Thank you to the frontline medical workers that are administering and analysing COVID-19 tests, as well as conducting the vaccinations.

Thank you to doctors and nurses that are working at hospitals treating COVID-19 patients, as well as running and operating clinics.

Thank you to emergency management workers like police, firefighters and paramedics, that are still working.

Thank you to the teachers doing online learning from their homes, while looking after their own children.

Thank you to the children giving up birthday parties with their friends and playing at the park.

Thank you to the farmers that are working hard to produce our food.

Thank you to the cleaners that are keeping public spaces clean and safe.

Thank you to health officials that are educating us about COVID-19 prevention and vaccines.

Thank you to the media for providing us with up to date information.

Thank you to our families for continuing to put up with us.

Thank you to the aged care workers for keeping our elderly safe.

Thank you to petrol station workers for being there.

Thank you to the public for staying home to save lives.

Thank you to the truck drivers that are moving freight and goods around the nation.

Thank you to the posties and courier drivers for keeping us sane, with your deliveries.

And finally, thank you to the supermarket workers for actually turning up and providing us with what we need.

I know this blog post is not very entertaining, however Lockdown Edition Part 2, will be about my observations about my family and society during lockdown.

See you in a few days and thanks for reading!

How do we help Afghanistan?

On By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Geography, Politics

I want to talk about Afghanistan. Why? Because currently, I have great fears for that country.

You’ve properly seen some of the footage or photographs coming out of Afghanistan, but especially the capital city, Kabul. Thousands of people fleeing their country, in fear of the Taliban and the prosecutions and injustices that travel with them.

Following the fall of Kabul, people have been flooding airports and roads, trying to get out as fast as possible. Some people were so desperate, that they were holding onto the landing gear of an US military aircraft, as it took off; which has resulted in fatalities. One of these people was Zaki Anwari, a nineteen year old football player, who played for Afghanistan’s national youth team.

The scenes are heartbreaking and it will probably get worse over the coming days, weeks and months. It’s fast becoming a huge humanitarian crisis, that needs the world’s attention.

Afghanistan is a proud nation with a rich and diverse history. The problem is that the progress and change the country has made over the last 20 years, could be on the verge over being wiped away, from the former rulers of Afghanistan, the fundamentalism and militant group known as the Taliban.

Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay

Now, I don’t know about you, but watching these terrible scenes has reminded me of different crises like Syria, South Sudan, Iraq, Myanmar, Kosovo, Crimea, the Yugoslav wars; and the list could go on. Again, I don’t know about you, but I felt powerless and helpless, when witnessing those scenes.

These feelings have come back to me again, while watching the chaotic exodus that has been unfolding in Afghanistan. You may have the same feelings after watching the footage or reading about it. This may have led you to the conclusion that there is nothing you can do to help.

In reality, you can actually help and make a difference. Seriously you can. I can think of three different ways, you can actually help the people of Afghanistan.

The first way is to educate people. Whether it’s your parents, siblings, children, friends, work colleagues, team mates, spouse, boyfriend, girlfriend or that obnoxious person at your bus stop. You know the one.

When someone starts complaining about allowing Afghan refugees into your country, or why your country should help these foreigners in the first place; you need to explain the reality of the situation to them.

It’s up to you whether you do it politely or get angry at them; as long as you say something to defend them. Islamophobia, ignorance and xenophobia are not helpful and never will be.

The second way is to donate, it’s really that simple. Right now, NGOs (Non Government Organisations) and various charities and agencies across the world, are already on the ground in Afghanistan, trying to support and help people.

You can help them by donating. Whatever the amount of money you can spare, it will make a huge difference to the people of Afghanistan. Your donation can provide medical supplies, food, clothing, shelter; but also help with immigration and refugee protection.

Some NGOs and charities that are working with Afghanistan currently are:

Afghanaid

Amnesty International

Doctors Without Borders

International Committee of the Red Cross

International Rescue Committee

Oxfam International

Save the Children

UNICEF

UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR)

World Vision

There are also many more worthwhile charities out there, so please research them and select one that fits with you, so you can donate.

The third way is quite possibly the most difficult and humorous at the same time: you can start campaigning. By this I mean, to start advocating for Afghan refugees and aid, by contacting your local member of parliament or representative. You can do this by sending emails or letters; calling them; or arranging an appointment to talk to them. Ask them what are they doing to help with the refugee crisis, but also ask them about what foreign aid is being sent.

If that doesn’t work, start contacting your government; beginning with the Immigration Minister (or closest equivalent), then moving up to your national leader.

I believe Afghanistan is standing on the abyss and it totally depends if the international community can bring it back or not. I’m not smart enough to know what could happen to Afghanistan, but I do know that if you can help in any way, you’re be able to make a positive difference.

Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next week!