Guilt

The Mother and Son reboot has fresh things to say about adult children and their ageing parents

Retrieved on: 
Monday, August 28, 2023

For anyone who has cared for an ageing parent – or faced the diminution of their autonomy as they have aged – Mother and Son still strikes a nerve.

Key Points: 
  • For anyone who has cared for an ageing parent – or faced the diminution of their autonomy as they have aged – Mother and Son still strikes a nerve.
  • However, the revival has some fresh things to say about the fraught but loving bonds between adult children and their ageing parents in the 21st century.

The original Mother and Son

    • Mother and Son premiered on the ABC in 1984 and ran for six seasons until 1994.
    • At the time Mother and Son was first broadcast, Australian sitcoms were thin on the ground.
    • Mother and Son represented a significant departure from the sketch comedies, soaps and serial dramas that featured on 1980s television.

Ageing parents and adult children

    • Re-watching Mother and Son, (currently available on iView), I was struck by how well it captures the complex emotions of both ageing parents and their adult children.
    • The series never shied away from Arthur’s guilt and frustration, or Maggie’s loneliness and feelings of loss.
    • In a society where care of children and the elderly was (and still is) typically regarded as “women’s work”, this was significant.

A new mother and son

    • In the 2023 Mother and Son, Maggie (Denise Scott) is a free-spirited eccentric who almost burned down the family home while cooking dinner for her grandchildren.
    • His mercenary sister, Robbie (a gender flip from the original) wants to move their mother into aged care so they can sell her home: a very 2020s tale.
    • The new Mother and Son is likeable, gentle comedy.
    • While it can’t hope to match the brilliance of the original, this reimagined Mother and Son offers an sympathetic, honest portrayal of ageing parents and their harried adult children – something we don’t see enough of on our television screens.

How some Muslim and non-Muslim rappers alike embrace Islam's greeting of peace

Retrieved on: 
Friday, August 25, 2023

Advocates trying to push back against this characterization sometimes emphasize that “Islam means peace,” since the two words are derived from the same Arabic root.

Key Points: 
  • Advocates trying to push back against this characterization sometimes emphasize that “Islam means peace,” since the two words are derived from the same Arabic root.
  • Indeed, the traditional Muslim greeting “al-salamu alaykum” means “peace be upon you.” Some Americans were already familiar with the phrase, thanks to an unexpected source: hip-hop culture, which often incorporated the Arabic phrase.
  • This is but one example of Islam’s deep intertwining with the threads of hip-hop culture.

More than ‘hello’

    • It points to the spiritual peace of submitting to God – and not only in this life.
    • Saying “peace be upon you” is a prayer that God will grant heaven to the person with whom you are speaking.
    • Many Muslims believe that “salam” is also the greeting heard upon entering heaven.

‘Peace to all my shorties’

    • Other hip-hop artists have used “al-salamu alaykum” in many different ways, including lyrics that show broader familiarity with the laws of Islam.
    • “Tell the pigs I say Asalamu alaikum,” Lil Wayne says in “Tapout,” a song that has little else to do with Islam.
    • Finally, many rappers, particularly those who are Muslim, use the greeting in a more straightforward manner.

Shared identity

    • Yet, throughout the song the rappers speak about violence and drug trade, painting a conflicting picture of innocence versus guilt.
    • Some young Muslims in Europe, for example, use hip-hop as a key way to assert their sense of belonging in societies.
    • In hip-hop, “al-salamu alaykum” is not treated as though it were part of a foreign culture.

Existential crisis: how long COVID patients helped us understand what it’s like to lose your sense of identity and purpose in life

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, August 24, 2023

Since contracting COVID in March 2020, Lucy told us she had been struggling with relentless fatigue, joint pain, breathlessness, brain fog and sensory dysfunction.

Key Points: 
  • Since contracting COVID in March 2020, Lucy told us she had been struggling with relentless fatigue, joint pain, breathlessness, brain fog and sensory dysfunction.
  • But worse than any single symptom is how this leaves her feeling about her own identity.
  • She said she found herself unrecognisable, a shadow of the person she used to be:
    This isn’t who I am – I don’t recognise myself.
  • My fear is I’ll never really get better, and that I’m always going to be at 70% of my former self.
  • It’s like I can’t picture myself any more in the same way [that I used to], on an upward trajectory.

Are existential crises common?

    • Strikingly, while sharing their experiences of living with these symptoms, more than half described a profound and, to them, often inexplicable anguish.
    • This emerged as they were forced to question their purpose, even their very existence, in the face of long COVID.
    • Yet there still appears to be only a limited understanding of the way that people experience full-on existential crisis – including among those family members and friends closest to them.
    • Existential crises can also centre around experiences such as a romantic break-up or bereavement, or even the global threats posed by climate change.

Losing your identity

    • The aftermath of their infection typically resulted in a wide range of symptoms affecting their breathing, heart and cognitive function.
    • I found it a little bit hard to adjust to – like I’d lost my identity slightly.
    • I found it a little bit hard to adjust to – like I’d lost my identity slightly.

Mourning the loss of physical capabilities

    • Drawing parallels between his loss and the amputation of a limb, Lewis suggested both experiences could result in a profound loss of identity in which “all sorts of pleasures and activities that I once took for granted will have to be simply written off”.
    • In this way, Lewis said, his “whole way of life will be changed”.
    • Their emotions were often raw and intense as they confronted not only loss of their former identity and lifestyle, but control of their body.
    • This may help explain how loss of control of the body can give rise to a form of grieving.
    • The painful aspect of grief arises from the ruptures it creates in our lives.

Fear of an uncertain future

    • Our participants faced daily struggles not only with the grief of losing their cherished past but fear of their uncertain future.
    • Life can be likened to the crafting of a book, with each scene gaining significance only when seen within the context of its broader narrative.
    • Finding coherence in our life stories is crucial to maintaining meaning and purpose, and building a buffer against the challenges of day-to-day life.
    • But for many, long COVID has disrupted this narrative, leading to a profound realisation of their vulnerability and mortality.

Suffering in silence

    • Many of our interviewees found it easier to articulate the surface-level challenges they faced, while struggling to convey the nuanced experiences of their deeper suffering.
    • In part, this may be because our society lacks the appropriate vocabulary to capture such profound and wide-ranging pain.
    • She felt there was “no point really talking about it as I could tell it’s upsetting for people to hear”.
    • John, 63, said he found it challenging to communicate his “hidden disability” and associated suffering because he was “not in a wheelchair” and didn’t have “a plaster cast on my hand”.
    • I had already taken a six-week sicknote and couldn’t take any more, because my financial position was very weak.

We need to talk about existential concerns

    • When considering coping strategies, we believe it is essential to promote a better understanding of the prevalence of existential crisis among society as a whole.
    • Not everyone, of course, can access highly specialised support such as existential therapy, which can be a useful tool for confronting existential dilemmas and gaining insight into values and beliefs.
    • What’s needed is a more accessible way to directly address and discuss our existential worries.
    • A European research project has created a programme to help healthcare professionals engage in existential conversations more sensitively and confidently.
    • *All names have been anonymised to protect the interviewees’ identities For you: more from our Insights series:
    • Chao Fang received funding from UKRI and NIHR (COV-LT-0009) for the study reported in this article.
    • JD Carpentieri received funding from UKRI and NIHR (COV-LT-0009) for the study reported in this article.

Existential crisis: how long COVID patients helped us understand what it’s like to lose all sense of identity and purpose in life

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, August 24, 2023

Since contracting COVID-19 in March 2020, Lucy told us she had been struggling with relentless fatigue, joint pain, breathlessness, brain fog and sensory dysfunction.

Key Points: 
  • Since contracting COVID-19 in March 2020, Lucy told us she had been struggling with relentless fatigue, joint pain, breathlessness, brain fog and sensory dysfunction.
  • But worse than any single symptom is how this leaves her feeling about her own identity.
  • She said she found herself unrecognisable, a shadow of the person she used to be:
    This isn’t who I am – I don’t recognise myself.
  • My fear is I’ll never really get better, and that I’m always going to be at 70% of my former self.
  • It’s like I can’t picture myself any more in the same way [that I used to], on an upward trajectory.

Are existential crises common?

    • Strikingly, while sharing their experiences of living with these symptoms, more than half described a profound and, to them, often inexplicable anguish.
    • This emerged as they were forced to question their purpose, even their very existence, in the face of long COVID.
    • Yet there still appears to be only a limited understanding of the way that people experience full-on existential crisis – including among those family members and friends closest to them.
    • Existential crises can also centre around experiences such as a romantic break-up or bereavement, or even the global threats posed by climate change.

Losing your identity

    • The aftermath of their infection typically resulted in a wide range of symptoms affecting their breathing, heart and cognitive function.
    • I found it a little bit hard to adjust to – like I’d lost my identity slightly.
    • I found it a little bit hard to adjust to – like I’d lost my identity slightly.

Mourning the loss of physical capabilities

    • Drawing parallels between his loss and the amputation of a limb, Lewis suggested both experiences could result in a profound loss of identity in which “all sorts of pleasures and activities that I once took for granted will have to be simply written off”.
    • In this way, Lewis said, his “whole way of life will be changed”.
    • Their emotions were often raw and intense as they confronted not only loss of their former identity and lifestyle, but control of their body.
    • This may help explain how loss of control of the body can give rise to a form of grieving.
    • The painful aspect of grief arises from the ruptures it creates in our lives.

Fear of an uncertain future

    • Our participants faced daily struggles not only with the grief of losing their cherished past but fear of their uncertain future.
    • Life can be likened to the crafting of a book, with each scene gaining significance only when seen within the context of its broader narrative.
    • Finding coherence in our life stories is crucial to maintaining meaning and purpose, and building a buffer against the challenges of day-to-day life.
    • But for many, long COVID has disrupted this narrative, leading to a profound realisation of their vulnerability and mortality.

Suffering in silence

    • Many of our interviewees found it easier to articulate the surface-level challenges they faced, while struggling to convey the nuanced experiences of their deeper suffering.
    • In part, this may be because our society lacks the appropriate vocabulary to capture such profound and wide-ranging pain.
    • She felt there was “no point really talking about it as I could tell it’s upsetting for people to hear”.
    • John, 63, said he found it challenging to communicate his “hidden disability” and associated suffering because he was “not in a wheelchair” and didn’t have “a plaster cast on my hand”.
    • I had already taken a six-week sicknote and couldn’t take any more, because my financial position was very weak.

We need to talk about existential concerns

    • When considering coping strategies, we believe it is essential to promote a better understanding of the prevalence of existential crisis among society as a whole.
    • Not everyone, of course, can access highly specialised support such as existential therapy, which can be a useful tool for confronting existential dilemmas and gaining insight into values and beliefs.
    • What’s needed is a more accessible way to directly address and discuss our existential worries.
    • A European research project has created a programme to help healthcare professionals engage in existential conversations more sensitively and confidently.
    • *All names have been anonymised to protect the interviewees’ identities For you: more from our Insights series:
    • Chao Fang received funding from UKRI and NIHR (COV-LT-0009) for the study reported in this article.
    • JD Carpentieri received funding from UKRI and NIHR (COV-LT-0009) for the study reported in this article.

'Religion would take my life': two women testify to enduring and surviving harm in evangelical Christian communities

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, August 22, 2023

Which in hindsight is odd, because it turns out when women share stories of harm – including religious harm – they will, in fact, often be questioned.

Key Points: 
  • Which in hindsight is odd, because it turns out when women share stories of harm – including religious harm – they will, in fact, often be questioned.
  • Review: Women We Buried, Women we Burned – Rachel Louise Snyder (Scribe); In/Out – Steph Lentz (ABC Books) I sit here with two memoirs full of women’s experiences.
  • Not testimonies of conversion to Christianity, but testimonies to surviving religious harm.
  • Rachel Louise Snyder, author of Women We Buried, Women We Burned, grew up in Pittsburgh and Chicago in the 1970s and 1980s.
  • A sense of searching or longing – perhaps for answers, or justice, or maybe freedom – carries these memoirs forward.

Stories of death and new beginnings

    • Snyder’s memoir is framed by a story of new beginnings – and a story of cancer, loss and death.
    • On the ship, watching the night sky, Snyder sees day and night split across the horizon.
    • It fractures her father’s life:
      Her death was the one story that nothing in my dad’s life had prepared him for.
    • Her death was the one story that nothing in my dad’s life had prepared him for.
    • This death and disappearance double-act is the story at the centre of Snyder’s memoir, one that flows into the unravelling of Snyder’s family, her home, her life.

Making trouble: religious harm and family violence

    • But religion would take my life.” Snyder’s story unravels into loss, grief, family violence, running away (again and again) and homelessness.
    • He justifies his physical violence by retelling a story that will, unfortunately, be common to many: obedience to a parent is a sign of obedience to God, discipline is an act of love, violence is an act of love.
    • Snyder recalls:
      He’d hit us ten times, a dozen, however many it took until he felt he’d broken us down enough to be truly repentant.
    • Cry, because at the end of the day it was necessary to see how all this was done out of love.
    • Discipline that does harm, whether in the home or in the church, can never be loving.

Doing damage

    • But first, I had to do some damage.
    • But first, I had to do some damage.
    • Lentz declares she will do damage – and yes, we could count an affair, a divorce and fractured friendships as damage done by her.
    • But the church culture she grew up in, which taught her homosexuality was sinful and incompatible with Christian faith, had already done damage of its own.

Christianity, sexuality and religious harm

    • Continually telling a story that places queer people outside faith communities causes harm and trauma for queer people.
    • She boldly invites the reader into her experience of religious harm.
    • Yet belonging to an evangelical community is often contingent on the “right” expression of gender and sexuality.
    • For those who have been harmed, or who are still in a place of harm, Lentz’s book may remind them they are not alone.

A scandalous story

    • She recounts in detail what it was like to finally let herself fall in love with a woman.
    • I waited for God’s judgement to fall upon me in some manner or other.
    • If anything, I felt closer to God: finally, neither of us was pretending I was that good Christian woman anymore.
    • I was committing the sins of adultery and lying and homosexuality […] I waited for the sense of wrongness to kick in.
    • If anything, I felt closer to God: finally, neither of us was pretending I was that good Christian woman anymore.

‘The goal is simply to endure’

    • While some people may seek recovery from religious and spiritual trauma, others know they can never recover the person they were before.
    • […] what is the goal of the trauma survivor in this aftermath?
    • The goal is simply to endure.
    • […] what is the goal of the trauma survivor in this aftermath?
    • The goal is simply to endure.
    • Lentz closes her book saying she’s “growing up all over again, learning who I am, learning to choose”.

Freedom from the past

    • Freedom from the past comes from being able to narrate our stories truthfully.
    • It was not a freedom like the one that had been sold to me, squashed into a small box of constrained choices and limited options.
    • For Snyder, freedom is knowing she doesn’t have to say her parents “did the best they could under the circumstances with the resources they had”.
    • They could view our collective past through whatever lens they wanted, but I was going to free myself.

Chobani Spices Up Fall Beverage Season with New Oatmilk Pumpkin Spice Drink

Retrieved on: 
Monday, August 14, 2023

NEW BERLIN, N.Y., Aug. 14, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Chobani, a next generation food and beverage company known for its Greek Yogurt, today introduced Chobani® Oatmilk Pumpkin Spice, a rich, creamy, pumpkin spice flavored oat drink made from the goodness of whole grain oats. The latest addition to the brand's pumpkin patch is vegan-friendly, a good source of calcium, free of dairy and lactose, and perfect for pumpkin spice enthusiasts looking for fall beverages that don't compromise on quality or flavor.

Key Points: 
  • NEW BERLIN, N.Y., Aug. 14, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Chobani , a next generation food and beverage company known for its Greek Yogurt, today introduced Chobani® Oatmilk Pumpkin Spice , a rich, creamy, pumpkin spice flavored oat drink made from the goodness of whole grain oats.
  • Chobani Oatmilk Pumpkin Spice is available now at a suggested retail price of $4.29, while supplies last.
  • Chobani® Coffee Creamer Pumpkin Spice Flavored : Natural cream, real milk, cane sugar, and natural flavors give every sip of coffee a warm, pumpkin spiced note.
  • Chobani® Greek Yogurt Pumpkin Spice Blended : Real pumpkin blended with seasonal spices of nutmeg and cinnamon is the flavor of the season.

Gravitas Ventures to Distribute Documentary Downwind About Fallout From Nuclear Testing in United States

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, August 10, 2023

The latter was the site for the testing of 928 large-scale nuclear weapons from 1951 to 1992.

Key Points: 
  • The latter was the site for the testing of 928 large-scale nuclear weapons from 1951 to 1992.
  • The film is executive produced by actor/activist Matthew Modine, who stars in this summer’s long-awaited Oppenheimer from director Christopher Nolan.
  • “Southern Utah was deeply affected by the nearly 1,000 nuclear and atomic bombs detonated in the Nevada desert.
  • In 1987, my brother Maury was arrested in Mercury, Nevada – alongside our documentary’s narrator Martin Sheen -- protesting the continued testing of nuclear bombs.

Minister of Justice refers case to the Court of Appeal for Ontario for a new appeal following conviction review

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, August 9, 2023

Today, the Honourable Arif Virani, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, announced that he has referred the case of Mr. Timothy Rees to the Court of Appeal for Ontario for a new appeal pursuant to the conviction review provisions of the Criminal Code.

Key Points: 
  • Today, the Honourable Arif Virani, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, announced that he has referred the case of Mr. Timothy Rees to the Court of Appeal for Ontario for a new appeal pursuant to the conviction review provisions of the Criminal Code.
  • A Minister's decision to order a new appeal is not a decision about the guilt or innocence of the applicant.
  • The Criminal Conviction Review Group of the Department of Justice conducts an investigation on behalf of the Minister of Justice.
  • Additional information about the role of the Minister of Justice in the current criminal conviction review process in Canada can be found at the following link: Criminal Conviction Review Process .

From Little Treats to Trouble: New Study Exposes The Hidden Financial Impacts of Impulsive Spending

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, August 9, 2023

Among impulsive spenders, 53% of them cited emotional fulfillment as the leading cause of engaging in this form of spur-of-the-moment retail therapy.

Key Points: 
  • Among impulsive spenders, 53% of them cited emotional fulfillment as the leading cause of engaging in this form of spur-of-the-moment retail therapy.
  • It is shown to delay big financial goals for more than half of impulsive spenders (52%) and sometimes causes financial stress for 47%.
  • "Sometimes, that means indulging in a little treat because, well – you earned it or had a bad day.
  • For this study, the sample data is accurate to within +/- 2.7 percentage points using a 95% confidence level.

A GLOBAL CRY FOR COMPASSION

Retrieved on: 
Monday, August 7, 2023

This 4-week seminar addresses the human outcome of the orphan pet crisis – compassion fatigue.

Key Points: 
  • This 4-week seminar addresses the human outcome of the orphan pet crisis – compassion fatigue.
  • A resounding request for the therapeutically-focused training is uniting shelters across the globe including Estonia, Mexico, Canada and the UK.
  • Helen Woodward Animal Center’s 4-week Compassion Fatigue Seminar, taught by Chippendale, aims to bring some much-needed relief to these individuals.
  • The Business of Saving Lives – Compassion Fatigue Edition is made possible by Julie Chippendale and Blue Buffalo.