CHRISTY'S FIVE QUESTIONS FOR MAY 2023


         How would you describe sleep to an alien?

     I  guess  I'll explain that sleep is an active mode  of  the 
     brain  necessary to physically restore the body, that  there 
     are  several  phases of sleep of which one,  REM  sleep,  is 
     probably  the most interesting for the sleeper.   Well,  one 
     could  clearly  make a 36-hour lecture on the  subject!   We 
     just  need to hope that aliens will take the time to  listen 
     before phasing us!  Nyark!  Nyark Nyark!!

         What in your opinion is a fascinating cultural tra-
         dition or practice?

     I  can think of various.  For instance flogging  among  some 
     Catholic Christians or some Shiite Muslims.  In a  different 
     genre,  I also think of certain funeral rites.   Mainly  one 
     practiced,  still today, in some parts of Asia: the Sky  bu-
     rial.   The idea is to place the body of the deceased on  an 
     elevation (artificial or natural, like a hill or a  montain) 
     so that it decomposes there or is fed to scavengers, usually 
     vultures.   I  had the opportunity to see family  videos  of 
     ceremonies  practiced  in Tibet and Sichuan;  it  is  really 
     fascinating.

         What's a beverage you loved, but was  discontinued?  
         I loved the herbal fizzy beverage Aqua Libra.

     I  can't think of one.  But there's one I loved when  I  was 
     young and that cannot be found in France: the Bonjus pineap-
     ple juice, easily recognizable because it comes in a  trian-
     gular cardboard package.

         Have  you  ever experienced a "healing  crisis"  or 
         withdrawal  symptoms while recovering your  health?  
         For  example, now that I am doing 'correct'  qigong 
         under  the supervision of certificated  class  ins-
         tructors with over a decade experience, I find  the 
         blood  rushes  to and from my head so  fast,  that, 
         when I have low blood sugar, I feel woozy and  won-
         der  if  I'm going to pass out.  (I have  an  early 
         morning  class,  and we aren't to  eat  within  two 
         hours of a qigong workout)

     Maybe but, at the moment, I don't have any memories of  such 
     thing that come back to me.

         Have you recently had a rediscovery?  For  example, 
         I  am  deep into early Mills Brothers,  the  proto-
         doowop  harmonizing  quartet.  My  mother  and  her 
         brothers  talked about Harry Mills,  whose  singing 
         style inspired Dean Martin, but now that I shas the 
         velvet  voice  I swoon to, although I  have  always 
         liked Harry's voice -- it's just more prominent  in 
         the postwar recordings.

     Recently,  I  don't think so.  But it's true that,  when  it 
     happens, I think it's often related to music.


     Original link:
gopher://sdf.org/0/users/christyotwisty/phlog/2023-May-Five-Questions.txt


                                             f6k, 2o23/o5/12