102: The Fright Of Spring

into bunker mode real fast. Our last episode, which I listened to a couple of days ago, hasn't aged very well because we sound pretty chill. Yeah, but you were saying it wouldn't age well. You were like, I think people are being too cavalier about this and like playing apocalypse. Uh, it feels a little more real Apocalypse. About one week later, Yeah, well, I wanted to ask you guys, when was the moment that you started to kind of be hit by this reality.

Um day which one Wednesday? That was the day that was Tom Hank They canceled the n B A day. Yeah, that would probably be my answer to Yeah, can I tell you guys that for me, the the NBA thing was that was very striking. But I I went to treat or Joe's where we are located virtually for this episode, and um, I tweeted about this, but the freezer aisles had these big, barren, empty spaces. Everybody was so panicked.

And then there was a leak in the ceiling that no one could fix because everyone was so busy restocking stuff and doing checkout because of the long, long line. That was a super scary and sobering experience that I'm sure we've all now had. Yeah, I will say my my, my muse Bush for the I think this was Wednesday. Actually, I had gotten back from going to Target because I'm in the middle of moving, so I have to do

all these stupid errands instead of staying at home. And uh, the Target was slightly apocalyptic, mostly empty, and I just started started to like, you know, have germ vision. I started to imagine everybody around me just like breathing out clouds of coronavirus, and I was like, oh, God, like I can't touch anybody. I have to just like spray

my hand sanitizer on everything in sight. And then I came back and then the NBA news happened and Tom Hanks and everything else, and that crazy address on Trump. Uh yeah, oh my god, that was. It feels like it's definitely turning everybody into Howard Hughes really fast. Yes, yeah, but it is weird because it is not a visible thing exactly. So even though it was happening in all these other countries, it like took it just wasn't until

it started happening here. But people started to seek it. Seriously. It's part of always done such a bad job with it. Yeah. Well, also on Wednesday, part of the reason that we're all calling in today is that on Wednesday, pretty much like right when I got home from Trader Joe's, I was like, I don't think I feel that great, and I which is not a fun feeling right now. And I don't have any of the symptoms of coronavirus. I had a slightly elevated temperature, but it was less than a hundred

point four. I didn't really have a cop or a sore throat or anything. But even just stealing slightly under the weather, and again it's like, you know, it's rainy and cold here, we're all bundled up. So I think that kind of contributes to like fluctuating temperatures. But when you know how dangerous it could be if you were infected and without the ability to get a test, it just kind of makes you think, like, Okay, I should

just sit in my bedroom and not move. Yeah. I think the official nightcall position is, you know, just stay home, enjoying if you can, if you are able to stay home, because a lot of people are not UM, A lot of people have to be working at Trader Joe's right now. Um, yeah, yeah, I mean I think you don't have to, right I Just as I got to the studio, I think I saw that they passed the bill about UM about assistance

for economic assistance for people during coronavirle coronavirus. So hopefully that can be executed UM somewhat efficiently because a lot of people are to be really impacted by this. We are going to have a real medical expert on today later on that Emily will talk to that will answer with real scientific advice any of our questions about coronavirus. But if you want to hear from some non experts, uh, there are plenty. They're getting there. They're trying to take

advantage of the situation. Could you would possibly be talking about Moon shut the Wellness Grifter are on it. Yeah, our friends tweeted this. Uh, I guess it looks like it's from the moon Juice Instagram. Possibly, um, just just the moon Juice tips for how to overcome or I guess prevent coronavirus, which involves um, not not one, but two kinds of dust and something called super u so also magnesium magnesium the thing. Okay, so obviously there's a lot of like these are all like take my products

and that's how you'll be fine. And then maybe one piece of real advice, which is wash yours right. Um. The thing that really pissed me off is the tense thing is not panicking. Most of us have the power to keep our immune systems strong, says But she believe is that if you don't pan it, it's like the secret like you're gonna stay well by that is that people people who get sick just don't haven't willed it

away enough. Yeah, and it's not that most of us have strong immune systems, it's most of us have the power to as if you have a choice about it. It's like very it's a subtle like difference in language, but it's very insidious. I hate its Well. Yeah, one nice thing you could do during your quarantine is check

out the amazing Nightcall canon yet that listener Derek made. Um. We will post a link to it on the site and some other places, But Derek made an amazing list on letterbox of every movie we've talked about on Night Call, like movies. Yeah, we we talked about a lot of movies. It turns out on this on this podcast, I almost called it a food cast. How did that happen? I think I was scrolling through this and saw something that maybe rhymed with that. Um, yeah, it's it's great though,

it's got the Craft on it. It's got eyes wide shut of course. Fifth element the animal such a weird variety. I feel like the purge is really relevant viewing right now, if you dare. I don't think I'm in the mood to watch movies that are like about dystopi and scary things right now. You haven't watched Contagion like everybody else in the world. No, I mean I've seen Contagious. I'm a fan, but yeah, I think it would just make me feel more nervous right now. I just want to

watch like comfort things and eat comfort food. Yeah, I would like to know what what you guys are eating for your comfort food right now? What are you? I was just silling Molly on this. You're just talking about it. Uh, we're I think everybody wants to eat pasta. Yeah, pasta was gone at Trader Joe's. Oh no, I have them if you need Emily. Now that I'm no longer in my still self quarantine too, you're in my inner circle. Um.

But I got at Trader Joe's. One of the things they hadn't sold out of were chocolate croissans, and I realized I was like, oh, I've never given my children chocolate croissans. Like, what a terrible mother am I? So then this morning I made chocolate croissans and I was like, children, the chocolate crispans are ready, and they like took a bite and we're kind of like, yeah, not for me. So then I sat down and eat four chocolate croissans.

So yeah, yesterday I was probably the most dressed out yesterday. That's when I ate, Like I definitely just ate like a meal that was just like two to Milana cookies. Oh my god, I still yeah, yeah, um, it's just chain just chain smoking them. I highly recommend, Like, I mean, everything frozen was gone, but I feel like this should be obvious, but you should eat like like fresh fruits and vegetables if you can right now, and save the

frozen stuff for later when things really get dicey. Like I baked sweet potatoes last night, um that I just happened to have and it was extremely comforting, just like sweet potatoes with olive oil and salt and pepperona Um, super good. That was my my comfort food. Um. We're definitely all going into a carb direction, in a bean direction,

I'm pro im proban. Yeah. Well, another thing we've been hearing a lot is that if you go to the big stores, including Trader Joe's everything, it's kind of ravaged. But if you go to small stores and corner stores, they have been very well sucked. Two friends of mine today give me the hot tip that I will now share with our listenership that if you try to go to a world market right now, um, super super empty and they have lots of food there and wine, so

nobody's thinking. Yeah, so I I was not a follow Max. I went to Cali Max today, uh, which has been Highland Park and very well stocked on everything check out Cali Max. All right, nice. Yeah. I heard there's an argentiney and market near Atwater that people said was like really good and very well stocked. But then I asked where it was and no one would tell me because

they wanted it to remain well stocked. Um. But because she said her parents reading costa, and I was like, oh, are they making the Alison roman Um and Choby pasta with tomato face? As if she wouldn't know that, like as if they would have told her what kind of pasta, like you know, we're specifically making the anchovie pasta. But I was like, am I in the mood for that?

Or is that just like first of all, it's all shelf stable or not all shelf stable things, but it relies heavily on can things, so we have to save that for later. But I was like, it's everyone just going to start making that pasta because it's like it looks so comforting and seeing exactly what you want if you're miserable. Yeah, and I think, uh, we're reading about Italy so much in the news. That's true just by reading the word Italy over and over and over. Well,

there's that meme. There's that meme going around that was like the different Italian filmmakers and like meme coronavirus meme, and one of them is just like, okay, a real news thing where a guy was like the stores out of pasta, Like this is how you know we're in a huge crisis. Um, I want to try to explain a meme because it doesn't work. They're like any other joke. UM. So I happened to talk to a night call listener um earlier today who happens to be a public health physician.

It's based in Denver's names Brian, and we had a pretty good conversation about that, you know, actually ended up being kind of relaxing to me. Um. And it was like a few notches below the the UCSF conference notes. I don't know if you guys saw those that went around. That wasn't that wasn't a real thing. Yeah no, I know, but that like that's like that's one of these things where you just like red and then you feel like your entire skin is on fire. Um yeah, right, well

that I wanted to bunk that specifically. It was like a guy went to this conference and took notes, but he wasn't one of the scientists, and if you look him up, he's a private practice position to chart just like dollars for an appointment. I think there's also people doing sort of panic drifting right now, posting things that will get a lot of attention that are very like worst predictions. There's just a lot of misinformation floating around.

So I'm glad that you have a real health expert on. Yeah, you take a break. Yeah, We're gonna take a quick break and then we'll come back and have my conversation with Brian. Welcome back to Nightcall. Um. It's just Emily here right now, and I am on the line right now with a Nightcall listener who also happens to be a preventive medicine and public health physician in Denver. We have Brian Early on the line. Thank you for joining us. Brian, Hi, Emily,

thank you. It's great be here. So you reached out to us because last week we were kind of having our initial um pre panic session. I think I would describe it as about coronavirus or COVID nineteen and just um what we needed to do, what was overreacting versus what wasn't and I just listened to our episode a couple of days ago. It's Friday right now, and already it felt like, oh, we were way low balling this.

We were kind of just like it's fine. Uh, you know that that feels like overreaction or it's like we don't want to go into prepper mode here. But now I feel like everybody, at least in Los Angeles and um, most of the United States is fully in prepper mode. Um. But is that much happened every every day the situation changes? Um? Is that kind of how you've experienced in Denver as well? Absolutely? Uh, you know, Denver wasn't one of the first cities to

experience coronavirus cases like scattle in parts of California. You were. But as our case count is increased, um, the amount

of concern has increased as well. So there's kind of general what to do type thing right now that feels very kind of It feels almost like like folk medicine or something like I'm not really sure, Like I am wiping down everything I can with lysol and uh, sanitizing my hands and washing my hands all the time, but it's just like, but what about everything else that my body comes in contact with, Like, how how much is all this stuff, all these kind of basic preventative measures

that we've been told through not even official health outlets, just like blogs. How much is this really helping the stop of the virus? And is there anything that we're missing right now? Well, I think the most important thing to emphasize is that the most impactful things that people can do happen on a larger scale. Will we call social distancing, avoiding crowds, avoiding being exposed to people with the virus if possible, and really we consider sort of

personal actions like hand washing, masks, personal protects, equipment. It's sort of the last line of protection against the virus. Really, you'd rather not be in the same room with someone with the virus um or a large crowd of people who might have the virus. And only if you really have to be do you want to do be doing things like make sure you doing handwashing, cleaning surfaces, avoiding touching your face and all that. Yeah, it's it's been

really hard to not touch my face. I've realized how to depend depending I am on touching my face as a glasses where especially and I'm adjusting my glasses right now as I say this, Um yeah, um yeah, there was also this panic ground masks to um, you know, people buying them up and then also you know, being shamed for wearing them in the first place. What's the truth about masks right now? Should I have a mask?

Masks and toilet papers seemed to be people's most the most important thing people are doing after Um, So, so masks work, okay, A well fitting uh you know, hostible grade and N masks works better than a sort of normal surgical mask. Um, but it works better only if it's been sort of sitted and gits your face. Well, but again we're talking about the last line. Like you're in the room with someone who's shedding the virus, is coughing or sneezing or whatever, then the mask is sort

of your last line there. Um. Really, it's you don't want to be in a situation where you're having to rely on it. It's it's at all possible. What is the one kind of thing that you feel like is being poorly communicated right now? Or like, what do you I mean, there's many things that I feel like are being poorly communicated, But as an expert, what has been most frustrating for you to watch about these past couple

of weeks as this is unfolded in the US. Well, I think, really something that's only coming to the public consciousness very recently, but has been sort of in the public health community for more than a decade is this idea that controlling spread of the virus UM. It's really about sort of slowing spread of the virus UM. There's been this intrographic going around. I don't know if you've seen it. It's UM comes the tagline flat in the curve.

The idea is that UM. You know, what we see going on in Italy, where they're especially a hard hit, is that the hospitals and health systems are overwhelmed. UM. There's more people than there are bets uh, and there's more people needing intensive care than there are ventilators, and people like just delivered that care. UM. And as a

consequence of the virus spreading very quickly through a large population. UM. And if you spread that out, say have people instead of getting all getting sick within a two week period in the community, UM, people getting exposed slowly over several months, many people not getting exposed, then all of a sudden health systems can operate normally, and not just people with the virus, but people with other conditions that bring them to the hospital. If you're having a heart attack, you

need here appendix out. Uh, they can receive high quality care as well. Yeah, yeah, it's just this. I think all of this just requires this sort of macro thinking that not just as Americans but also like as human beings were like not trained for at all. Is that kind of that feels like it must be a constant problem with what you do. It is. I think people like to have feel like they have, you know, control over what happens with themselves and what happens with their health.

But a lot of the most impactful conditions and decisions that are made around this virus are made at a very high level. UM. You know, workplaces, a lot of people that work from home. People canceling conferences, canceling travel. Um. And this virus happens and it spread the way it does because we live in a globally connected society. UM, and so the solutions have to be so equal macro scale. Um. Did you read that report that came out? I think yesterday it started to go around from UCSF. UM, I

should bring it up. I should have had it up to begin with. Do you know what I'm talking about though? Um this? Uh yeah, yeah, yeah, very Uh. I think a little bit disputed about whether those are you know, accurate notes. Um. But the CDC did come out with sort of a worst case scenario report. Uh say, you know, we don't do anything. We like two million people to become effect you to the virus over a course of time, um, and many many of them will be asymptomatic, and some

of them will require really um significant healthcare. Um. And it's just you know, can we bring that number down and can we do it in a way that allows

these people to get high quality care? So you said that it was kind of you felt that it was a little bit disputable whether these were accurate notes or do do you think that what was in the report because I mean a lot of you know, it's it's a pretty bleak report, and the main takeaway seems to be like, uh, this is going to change our country forever, and this is going to be something we're going to be living with for at least another year. UM. That's

sort of the broad takeaway. Do you think that that's do you think that's accurate or is it more kind of the specifics on it that um that you kind of feel like you're disputable. You know. I think that there's definitely communities that we're having spread UM in King County and Washington and in New York where there is community spread and they're going to be impacted to a large attent, and likely this will sort of moved to other communities in the US. UM. I don't have imagic

ball that I can tell you. You know, next week will be in Austin, and then it will be in UM somewhere in Michigan. But UM, it's likely that this virus, given the way it's spread around the world, is going to affect many different communities in the United States for a long time to come. Yeah. I don't know. We're l a Is still. I think they had the first death here maybe earlier this week. I was going to say a couple of weeks ago, because it feels like it must have been two weeks ago, but it was

probably two days ago. That's how the squeech. Yeah. Yeah, so I feel like right now everybody is sort of battening down the hatches. Went to a very chaotic trader Joe's yesterday to try to buy all my supplies. Um are bad on a good day, Yeah, especially the one in Hollywood. It's a yeah, a lot of Instagram influencers. I have a very specific question because I put a pull out on this on my on my Twitter, and I won't tell you what I eventually decided to do.

But I had made a hair cut appointment, um earlier this week, when it still felt like something that maybe wasn't crazy to do, and then today I kind of thought, um, oh, should I actually be doing this or not? But this is also in the same week whereas I said, I went to a trader Joe's, I went to I'm in the middle of moving, so I went to like a Target and I've made two bed bath and beyond trips

uh and um yeah. And so it felt like of all these places like weirdly, I was like a salon felt kind of harmless by comparison, But I wasn't sure whether or not I should have gone. Um, I'm just asking out of This is no longer for the public service. This is just for me personally, well your opinion with well for a few and anywhere else. Considering going to a salon. Um, you know, the risk is the number of different people you're exposed to and sort of the

context you're exposed to. In a salon, it's um, you know, probably you and your stylists, and um, you know it's doing they're using relatively hygienic practices. I think that you're mostly gonna be exposed to uh, you know, contact with one person for an extended period of time. Um, Whereas I think you know a place like uh crazy train, your shows, you're gonna be omping into, you know, a couple of dozen people, target, You're gonna be running into

a lot of people. So just it. Um, I think I don't know what you showed, but I would feel like this slan is probably the lowest risk of all those at Okay, this is making me feel better because I went to the salon. I decided to go. Umlth care is important. I mean, it's nice, like and I ended up just talking to my stylist who's Korean and has family in Korea, so of course she had like a whole different experience of all of this, and um

so in a weird way. After after you know, just a couple of days of social distancing, it was sort of nice to just like talk to somebody in person. UM. Yeah, And speaking of Korea has actually had UM really kind of a very robust and kind of a model response to this virus. UM. You know, they they experienced it early, but they have UM closed down schools, a lot of people work from home, limited the sort of social context people have, and they seem to be doing very very

well with it. UM. Looking at this is sort of various trackers, UM, And I think what else did your your stylists say? UM, just that that her dad was fine, but she's calling all the time, and she doesn't know when she's going to get to visit next, all that kind of stuff. I mean, I have a relative in Japan, which, weirdly, given their their geographical closeness, it's a very different situation because they're not doing the testing. They're like they are in Korea and in UM in China, UM kind of

in a similar way. And I feel like it's kind of linked to the Olympics heavily, Like they kind of like like high numbers are bad for ABE, so they don't want the high numbers. And it's just a very it's it's sort of a mirror of here, which is funny because you know, I think otherwise, I think that Japan is pretty well equipped to to attack something like this.

But just like it starts with that testing thing, I guess, like just whether or not you're willing to address the problem and like actually get try to get an accurate picture of what you're dealing with. Yeah, and you know, not testing is one way, you know, you can sort of bury your head in the sand. Um, But if you're even without doing really bigger testing, only testing the very ill, you can still put in very effected public

health measures. Um, you know you don't need to test everyone to know that you shouldn't you know that the end days to cancel, the season, that concerts need to cancel, the help in the Southwest needs to cancel. Uh, No number of posit tests is going to tell you what to do in those situations. But um, sort of understanding the exchange of other countries and sound public health practice

will and formed those decisions. So yeah, I mean, as somebody who bought Coachella tickets and like a fit of like, oh are we going to war with or on Mania at the beginning of the I was a long time ago it was a while ago. A lot of stuff has happened. UM. I was still relieved that they canceled Coachella. UM. At the same time, like, you know, New York, I think put a ban on events of more than what did they say, They said five hundred people in New York.

I think it's two hundred and fifty people in Seattle. These all feel like completely arbitrary numbers, Like shouldn't you just not have an event at all? Like even a house party you probably shouldn't have. I don't know, it is a little bit arbitrary, And I think part of the two is yet a larger event and then uh, you know, you're each person is there's the risk that they're sort of shedding virus, they're coughing or spreading the virus around. UM. And with sid fin people, that's a

lot of risk. With you know, a smaller gathering, it's a little bit less risk. UM. I don't think there's any any magic heat of those numbers. I think it's you know, partly what's practical polically and socially. Yeah, because you still, I guess like that kind of leaves most workplaces in so if you have a necessary job, like say at hospital or grocery store, um, which I guess, or like, yeah, what else needs to stay open? What else do we really really need to stay open right now?

We're doing in healthcare? We'll work work our way at Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Yeah seriously, Well okay, so speaking of Baslow's hierarchy of needs, I had no idea how low down on the pyramid a thermometer. Was like, I need a thermometer so badly right now, and I can't find one to save my life. Where can I get a thermometer? So I think that's that Maybe rage is a larger point about um, you know what to do if you feel like you may be getting sick, and

if you are worried about having symptoms. Really, any respiratory virus right now is kind of a concern, and you don't need a thermometer tell you how sick you feel, um, and if you're um, and you know if some people are coming in the hospital. I think at quarter people in China came to the hospital without a fever and

then developed a fever while they are there. So I really wouldn't would advise using the thermometer as like your only decision point about whether you're sticking up to see care whether you can just sort of hanging at home with some tama flu um. It's uh, it's only one component of UM outside of an overall vase picture. Yeah, well, I gotta get some tama flu. I need, I need a stockpile of tama flu. Yeah, And I actually I regret saying that because tama flu is the only effective

in the flu, not against the coronavirus. Uh, prevace covers and niccols and day quill. They're using like a like a like there's three different meds that they're giving people, right, there's like a isn't there an HIV med as well that they're giving people just for like the immune system stuff or UM? Or is that you actually experimental? You

think it's a few experimental virul medications UM. China actually has a slightly different practice of medicine than the US, and they give a lot of UM actually a unit suppressing steroids UM. Feeling like the a lot of the damage caused by the virus is actually your ownmmune system overreacting to it. M and the US it's less to practice. Although doctors are people too, and if someone's really doing badly. I wouldn't I wouldn't be surprised if they tried it UM,

whether or not there's any evidence for it. UM. But then there are also some anti viral medications that are under investigation seem to help and attest to might help, might not in people, but are more and more available for for hospitals to give a shot. UM. Well, I really appreciate all of your your insight on this. I feel calmer, weirdly, just like talking to somebody who knows something. UM. I guess this is just becomes just an emotional thing.

I guess for a lot of people, especially when you're talking about social distancing and really changing, um, changing your lifestyle and and you know, I think I was talking to testing Molly about this in our group chat. I was just like, you know, we've had bummer public events in the past. I can think of one in sixteen, and this almost feels worse in some ways because you can't just like go to a bar and cry about it with your friends, like you can't. You have to

just stay at home. And it's like, do you have any I don't know, do you have any like kind of general advice for people just to like keep from going crazy while you're just staying at home and not without the comfort of friends or loved ones. Well, the world of podcast is always growing and explore that and

pretty friends. Um, you know, I think maybe the the biggest message I'd want people to take away from this is that, um, you know, I think, uh, if you are privileged enough to have a job that allows you to stay home, that um, you have the support where you're staying home as possible, um to be you consider it and thoughtful and see and think about people who you know, working super more markets, working factories, working jobs, or they can't stay home and they can't be isolate

like a lot of health comissions. This is going to affect the most vulnerable more than it's going to affect people with more privilege. Um. And I think while we have a responsibility to take care of ourselves, um, both from an individual and public health perspective, it's also important that we are looking after each other. What do you think is the most useful thing that an average person

can do right now to help those more vulnerable vulnerable populations. Yeah, yeah, I think it's supporting policies like the ones that just that are hopefully passing through Congress now providing leaves and relief for people who won't be able to worker. Should stay home because you're sick. And then a lot of this can be happen locally, whether if there's someone who's vulnerable in your neighborhood or in your building that UM is older, has other health conditions and really needs to

avoid exposure to virus. Offered to do their shopping from for them, to help them get some things. UM, help your help your older neighbors, use UH telemedicine so they can see their doctor if they're they're not feeling well. We don't have to go into a clinic. UM. There's a lot of small things that can be done in the individual scale that can be very impactful, both for you and people who are especially at risk. Thank you so much, UM, this has been really really great. I'm

so glad that you reached out to us. I'm so glad we could have this conversation. UM. Yeah, and thank you for being a Night Called listener as well. Well. Thank you for putting out a great podcast. Really appreciate it. And UM, have you thought any time? All right? Thanks so much. Welcome back to Nightcall. Where it's often easy to forget, but it's still ring break months. We're going to take a message real quick, a night call from

a listener. Hi, call, I don't want to tell you about my spring break and to Antarctica where he and four other lady friends the polar punch cool. Um fun. I don't think that she meant that as a pun, but she did say cool after she said she took. Have you guys ever thought about taking the polar punch? Yeah, I would do it. I I think I went polar bearing in Washington, which is just like swimming when it's freezing out. Um, when I was a kid and and

girl scout camp. Maybe, um, I don't know. Maybe this is like a Google thing we've taken, the polar plunge that we spot. Yes, I do like, but that's so like that's such a contained thing, like you can do, but it's still getting in an ice cold tub of water and like trying to stop from screaming. I mean, I think it feels amazing. It's just like you want to be able to get out as soon as you need to. That's the only thing. Like, I hate the idea of bobbing around and like freezing cold water and

be like, okay, okay, I'm done. I love going back and forth between like a pool and a jacuz. I think it's good for you. Um I once. The thing that concerns me about it is that I was once swimming on Fire Island on fourth of July, so in the middle of summer, but it was still pretty the water was still pretty cold, and I went out like past the breakers, and then I started to like be so cold that like my limbs weren't working, and I

was trying to swim back to shore. I was like, oh, I don't know if I can do this right now. Um So that's my only nervousness about the whole polar bearing thing is is bodily failure. But other than that, yes, yeah, right now, maybe isn't the time that I'm the most

like take fun gambles with your help. Yeah, But but doing the polar plunge for spring break, though, does feel a little like, yeah, like kind of what we wanted to talk about today, which is more like kind of rights of spring, like weird midsummery type like maybe not even fun necessarily, but just sort of like um quasi spiritual tricks to do uh when the weather turns. Um, well, I will say I will say briefly that I did. My only spring break that I did was to Montreal

with some just random friends of mine. We just were like, let's do something. Let's go to Montreal. None of us has ever been there and we can drive there, um. And it was so fun on but it was like like a wintry spring break. There was like a winter festival going on with like a snow slide and ice sculpture um, and it was freezing. It was like the wholest I've ever been. Were walking around, well we were walking around. We were like, there's nobody out. Why is

there nobody out anywhere? But there are people in places. And then like after we'd left and got home, we found out that because there were underground tunnels everywhere and that's how everybody else is getting around. But we didn't know. So we were just like hold idiots going to the Vegetarian Sandwich placed run by god Scaby Black Emperor. This is great. Oh my god, it was the best. I love Montreal. I've been there, um yeah, I've only been

that once. But it was like a very fun time and like just a random group of friends, but like we all totally were like, I'm we all did this together. You know, we're like the last four single people or something. They're like this, this was good. Went to a strip club, um, and I was wearing this hat. Yeah. Well the strip clubs in in Montreal or like famous for you can you can like cut strippers. But we were just like,

let's go see the red light district. Um, and I was wearing like a hat that was a dinosaur hat but I used to wear all the time. And one of the strippers like saw it and like started laughing. Broke broke character of the laugh dance she was giving you or to someone else. She was give laugh dance to somebody else. She saw me and he's like, oh, look at your hat. Very legendary hat. Yeah. It was a great hat and a great a great spring break. Um.

Did you guys watch The Right of Spring? The Stravinsky piece that is a Nijinsky ballet that we talked about the Yeah I am, I'm aware of it. Yeah I watched. Yeah, I watched like two different performances of it. Um. It was also like an interesting thing to watch when you're already in a weird mood. Um, it is crazy. Yeah, can you describe that? Um, it's basically Midsummer but a ballet.

It's like a ballet about a pagan sacrifice in ancient Russia. Uh. And it inspired a riot when it was first shown because it was so modern and dissonant, like invented sort of dissonant avant garde classical music. And it's still really weird when you watch it. It's like one of these things that makes me think that like experimentalism and general craziness and out their nous is not a straight line, Like there was a time when people were um, way more out there than they are now. Like what counts

his experimenting this stuff? Yeah? Yeah, and his history is obviously not moving forward in like a traditional right now, So that's interesting to think about. Yeah, what was transgressive in the past. So this guy Nicholas Rourick, who was involved with the Right of Spring but I've never heard of. Turns out he was like this total proto New Age guy who was very influential on people. The painter, he

designed the costumes. Um, but he also was into like gurus and the sort of stuff, all the stuff that we talked about on the show New age stuff UM and Russian symbolism, which is also what this ballet feels

like it's going for. Um. You linked here to the circle dance, which is like a thing that exists in like versions of it exists in a lot of different cultures, like and that's the thing that's in midsummer as well, like the thing where they just like run around in circles and the last person standing is the may queen UM.

But this also reminded me of there's like a really great book that I would highly recommend UM by Barbara aren Reich UM called Dancing in the Streets that's about it's like a history of UM public dance and rituals and just like public celebration and music basically, and how many of these did center around UM women and also satan um like a lot like like culturally like everything kind of ad or nine or like not just satan but like I mean, like whatever the chaotic um spiritual

um emblem of the culture is is kind of represented through this stuff. And you know, sometimes it's a springtime ritual but something like it's they're all often harvest rituals too, UM that are just sort of like the ladies are all gonna go dance and do chaos and uh and then the cycle will continue anew um, which you know, and she she kind of builds this case that it's been like a really really important part of society for a long time. I made a list of a few

of them. Uh, I was just looking for spring holidays to talk about um, And probably the best one is Baba Marta Day in Bulgaria, which is a day where the description said you have to wear a red and white yarn bracelet until you see a stork. Sure. Baba Marta is Grandma March and she is believed to be a feisty lady who is always grudging her two brothers January and February, while the sun only comes out when she smiles. On these holidays, ritual acts are performed which

are believed to mellow her temper. Participants in the holidays are women, girls, and children. It is believed she is not fond of older women and they should not, under any circumstances, cause her anger. So yeah, it turns out there's a lot of holidays from around this time that involves like like killing an old woman who represents winter um. Because there was another one called Marzanna, where you make little dolls that represent Marzanna, the Winter the Lady, and

then you drown them in effigy. Sure um, and I guess I'm these are a lot of these respontic holidays too. And there's one called Butter Lady Muslin sita Um, where you burn another Winter Lady doll and then everybody eats butter and pancakes for the last time before Lent. I love I love spring butter, eating all that mrty Cross stuff. That's a great like spring tradition, eating a bunch of butter. Yeah, I mean, do you guys have any other like weird

spring traditions? Personally? Do you do spring cleaning? Oh? I love spring cleaning. I do major spring cleaning, and then I try and do spring gardening is my favorite way to chill. And I'll have plenty of time for that, being as I am now only living in my house and correctly outside a lot of strawberry planting. Oh, that's like planting stuff feels good. I have never really had a yard where I can truly plant things, but I've always been into just like flower people like you have

the cherry blossom veering on here. Yeah, I like just doing a casual version of that. And I have to say that I only really started to appreciate that when I lived in New York, because you don't have flowers for so long, and when the flowers start to show up, it feels like getting like taking a shower, it feels like just getting cleansed spar actually to see all the

cherry blossoms and dogwoods and stuff like that. Um, So I really had an appreciation for that um out there, and like as soon as the trees started blooming, I mean, it would just be like all over my Instagram, just like flowers. Um yeah, I think I think I like all of the the nature viewing things. I like the idea of moon viewing, like autumnly viewing obviously. Um just anything that you can do for free. That's like just taking a walk and observing things. If I'm not to

be the most relaxing thing in the world. Oh you know what's great for spring is I've recently become really obsessed with bulbs because I just love the idea that you can like PLoP something in the ground it won't come up for such a long time and then it just comes up every year. But it's like otherwise completely concealed,

um and the other. A few years ago, I had an old hyha since that was like it was like a Mother's day high sinse or something that my husband got me, and I saved the bulb and just kind of like randomly plopped it in. And then now every time I get a ball, I'll just put it in the backyard. And some of them don't come up for years, and then randomly you're like, WHOA, there you are. I

think that's fun. Yeah, surprise friend. Yeah. Um well. I one thing that I think that and maybe I'm wrong about this, but I feel like it's totally fair game still, even in these days of so s distancing, is that you can walk outside, like maybe don't like walk outside and a crowd or something, but like you can go for a hike that seems super safe. Like you can

be out outdoors, go for a run or something. Um, if the weather is good where you are, which is not where we are right now, UM, I would I would take advantage of that because that feels like a good way to kind of um beat the blues if you have to stay indoors and if you're too afraid to actually go outdoors, but you want to stimulate being outdoors.

As always, I recommend the explore dot org animal cams, which have live streams of animals in various natural settings, like bears in Alaska fishing for salmon us to be the most common thing. I love those. There's that. I also just like, now, I'm like, these animals don't know about coronafirus. Every other let their dogs outside, um, like my apartment right now, and I'm just like, oh, dogs,

they have no idea. There's one there's one on explored or that's a puppy welping room, which I guess it's like when they're little, and it's just like, yeah, I just watched it a little bit. It was just all these puppies, like you know, nursing on their mom and sleeping and then like twitching in their sleep a little bit. It was very cute. Oh my god, I'll send it because that's another good spring tradition, baby animals, puppies. That's true,

that's the best part of spring. Yeah. Reburnings, which we'll get into more next month. Actually yeah yeah, um well we will. Yeah, we'll be back to bloom like a flower. Yeah. Again, we've got one more spring Break week next week, and it's going to be a good one. Um. When there we are in person, are all in our private bunkers.

By then it's going to be a good show. So please don't miss it, um, And if you have any more spring break stories or coronavirus stories or anything, give us a night call at one two four oh four six Night. We're also taking calls for next month's theme month, which is plastic surgery April, speaking of rebirth, and we would love your stories, questions, conspiracy theories, any of the above one to four oh four six Night or give us a night email at Night Call Podcast at gmail

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