October Newsletter
THE HALLOWEEN EDITION
Welcome to The Shakarri News, a monthly update on what’s happening in the Shakarri series, on Vancouver Island, in the Pacific region, and in the world.
October is one of my favourite months for many reasons. It’s the month when temperatures begin to cool down and most of those biting insects I referred to previously go dormant or die. I know that bugs have a critical purpose in life, but biting me is not one that I approve of, so I’m happy to wave goodbye to them. With the bugs gone, a hike through the forest is suddenly a pleasure rather than a blood-fest. The forest transforms into a kaleidoscopic of colours to announce the fall season and then the advent of winter — not really my favourite season.
But best of all, October has Halloween. It brings back memories of homemade costumes, with oohs and aahs of appreciation for my mother’s costume creativity. It also reminds me of the times when that creativity was covered up by heavy jackets, scarves, toques and mitts, while trundling through deep snow on the streets and sidewalks to reach the door.
Treats in those days varied from stale kiss candies that pulled at those fillings in my mouth, homemade popcorn balls which gave the kiss candies some competition, a handful of loose peanuts, apples, and enough sugar to make my parents go nearly insane.
Dementia
THE SURPRISING HABITS LINKED TO DEMENTIA
I would be shocked if there was anyone over the age of thirty, in Canada at least, who was unaware of what dementia is, in general. The mention of it in conversations often creates a level of anxiety about the possibility of being one of those affected. Since dementia first began to be recognized for what it is, many studies have been dedicated to learning how to treat it, and better yet, how to avoid the habits that may lead to being afflicted with it. Personally, I tend to be forgetful, and usually attribute that forgetfulness to distractions. But as a consequence, I also read many of the articles on the subject, and monitor my forgetfulness to judge whether I am being honest with myself.
I have attached below, an article from the Telegraph which offers some lifestyle habit suggestions that may be linked to the disease. It never hurts to be well informed.
The surprising habits linked to dementia – The Telegraph
https://apple.news/AEfcLhpa5SAiCFlaRj-GOaA
Gut Health
HOW PROCESSED FOODS AFFECT YOUR HEALTH
One of the things I forgot to mention in my halloween outings, was the fact that we used pillow cases to collect the candy. Why, you ask? Because they were handy, they didn’t tear, and they held a lot of candy. But you may have also noticed that many of those treats I mentioned were actually healthy for me. Most of those I gave to my parents, but that’s not my point. The point is that food decades ago was more natural, and healthier for you. As the decades passed, the food we ate changed from being natural, to food that was loaded with preservatives, chemicals we couldn’t pronounce, and excessive sugar or sugar substitutes. The rationale was to make it more shelf-stable so that there was less wastage, and it reduced prices significantly, which most people appreciated. It also made many of those foods addictive. As more health issues started to emerge, scientists began to look at the effects of over-processed food on our health, and they are significant, depending on how much processed food you consume.
Below is an interesting article on how ultra processed foods influence our gut microbiome, and ultimately our health.
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20260220-how-ultra-processed-foods-influence-our-gut-microbiome
YELLOWSTONE TO YUKON CONSERVATION INITIATIVE
This is the 1st Canadian finalist for Prince William’s prize | CBC News
It is an amazing project begun in 1993 to protect wildlife as they migrate through vast distances. The map shows the area that the Initiative aims to protect, and the land that is already protected.
Below is a link which discusses this initiative.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/y2y-earthshot-prize-finalist-9.7349898
Tiger Man in space
SOME GLOSSARY EXPLANATIONS
Much of Book two in the Shakarri series, Tiger Man, takes place in our solar system and the distant outer limits. In the book glossary I have included some specifics of the vast distances involved and the nature of those vast structures for context.
SPACE
AU
An AU is an astronomical unit equal to the distance from the sun to Earth. The average distance of 1 AU is 150,000,000 kilometres.
Kuiper Belt
The Kuiper Belt is a doughnut-shaped volume of space in the outer regions of our solar system containing mostly frozen bodies of ice and dust in various sizes and shapes, many greater than 100 kilometres. Pluto is one such object measuring 2,370 kilometres in diameter. The inner edge of the Kuiper Belt begins at 30 AUs and is within Neptune’s orbit. The main inner region ends between 50 AUs and 100 AUs. From there it transitions into the ‘scattered disk’ out to 2,000 AUs which then becomes the Oort Cloud. The Kuiper Belt thickness ranges between 3AUs and 12 AUs.
Oort Cloud
The Oort Cloud can be visualized as an eggshell shaped sphere composed of trillions of ice bodies surrounding and demarcating our solar system. The inner boundary of the Oort Cloud begins between 2,000 and 5,000 AUs, and could extend out to 100,000 AUs, about two light years.
Halloweens Origins
SAMHAIN
Halloween originated over 2,000 years ago as the ancient Celtic pagan festival of Samhain which was celebrated on October 31st and marked the end of the harvest and the start of the new year on November 1st. People believed the boundary between the living and the dead blurred on this night, so bonfires were lit and costumes were worn to ward off wandering spirits.
The Christian Influence began in the 8th century when the Christian Church designated November 1st as All Saints’ Day (or All Hallows’). The night before—October 31st—became known as All Hallows’ Eve, and over time, the name shortened to Halloween.
Below is a link to some of the history of Halloween. It is a rather long history, but fortunately it is presented in a number of separate sections, with the aim of picking and choosing the information that interests you the most.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Samhain
As always, I’d love to hear from you, so Email Me and let me know your thoughts on anything in this newsletter, or suggestions for what you’d like to see in future editions.
-Ray
Ray St. Denis
Author, The Shakarri Series
