Sep 30 2020 - How Clean?

My car is wonderfully clean inside. It got me to thinking about our passion for cleanliness and neatness.  Have we always had this orientation?  I assume that we've always had some orientation to hygiene, but we know that's not the case.   What about neatness?  There has been a growing trend in the last 10 years about tidying up, reducing clutter, and living a simpler life.  There's a magazine for this:  Real Simple.   Perhaps the trend is growing because of our messy internet. I can appreciate this after yesterday's look through the chaos of meme websites - cluttered visually, verbally explosive and hectically flashing things. Tidiness is now associated with 'calm respite' with symmetry and order.  This has turned into a personal practice, described by Sarah Hampton as "knolling". That's the term some artists use to describe the ritual of organizing and arranging their tools in specific order and configurations, like a surgeon's instruments in an operating room, before they start their work. Some of the inspiration for the blog Things Organized Neatly came from this practice.    If we want to analyze neatness at a broad historical level there is  Neatness: Webster's Timeline History, 1535 - 2005 Paperback – Aug. 17 2010 is a most interesting book - it is one of its bibliographic and event-based timeliness - comprehensive in scope, covering virtually all topics, geographic locations and people. They do so from a linguistic point of view, and in the case of this book, the focus is on "Neatness," including when used in literature (e.g. all authors that might have Neatness in their name). As such, this book represents the largest compilation of timeline events associated with Neatness when it is used in proper noun form. I found this joke that is really long, perhaps that is what makes it seem so  funny. A man wants a pet A man wants a pet. So he visits his local pet shop and inquires .  Man: “I want an obedient pet. One that would do anything I ask of it no matter what”.  The store clerk: “I know exactly what you need”. The clerk steps out back for a few minutes and returns with a tiny box containing a centipede.  Man: “A centipede, really?”  Clerk: “Yes, trust me”  Man: “Sold!” The man takes his new pet back home and immediately starts giving orders. Man: “I am going to go cook in the kitchen. I would like you to clean this entire living room. Make it spic and span.” After the man finished cooking and eating, he returns to his living in the most well-kept state it has ever been. Dusting, organizing, and everything in between was taken care of. He is amazed.  Man: “Okay, that was really cool. Now I want you to do the same for the kitchen”   After relaxing on the couch, he checks on the kitchen to find it in a perfect state of cleanliness as well. He just couldn’t believe how amazing this centipede was. One Sunday morning, he tasks the centipede to go out and get the newspaper. The centipede steps outside to fetch it. 10 minutes go by... 30 minutes... 1 hour... Impatient and confused, the man steps outside to see the centipede still at the front of the door with no newspaper Man: “Where’s my newspaper?! It’s been an hour!!” Centipede: “I AM STILL PUTTING MY SHOES ON!!!” Here's the view from the Beamer Park on the escarpment.  This is from a few years ago. We're looking to the east, so the distant ridge is likely Port Dalhousie.

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June 24 2020 - Clean and Pure

The story of cleanliness is a long journey through history.  Religions have many rituals around hygiene and cleanliness. The religious notion seems to be more around purity - which a a physical, moral or ritual state of freedom from pollutants.  "Pure and clean" go together in various bibles/religions.  The Phoenicians used soap and the Greeks and Romans had plumbing and toilet facilities.  There is evidence of nethanderals practicing cleanliness in the caves.  Even during Medieval times, it was common practice for people to wash their hands before meals (they didn't use utensils then.)  An ordinary peasant removed the day's grime, but the aristocrat had many roles of etiquette: …and let your fingers be clean, and your fingernails well-groomed. Once a morsel has been touched, let it not be returned to the plate. Do not touch your ears or nose with your bare hands. Do not clean your teeth with a sharp iron while eating. It is ordered by regulation that you should not put a dish to your mouth. He who wishes to drink must first finish what is in his mouth. And let his lips be wiped first. Once the table is cleared, wash your hands, and have a drink. So what happened that changed things?   It is the Plague:  it is blamed for the deterioration of cleanliness. Doctors declared that bathing was dangerous and opened the skin to illness. From the mid-16th century into the 19th century a person could live a whole life without a good wash.  This is the age where people changed into fresh 'linens' to absorb dirt and grime, so that the linens could be washed rather than the body.  Nosegays were held close to the nose to cover the smells (Stench) of city and people.   So here we are today - back into a world where cleanliness is again valued and hygiene considered essential to life. More irises today - with their complicated frills and amazing colours.

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April 8th 2020 - How Clean is Clean Enough?

There's a book with the title The Germ Code and the same author has written The Germ Files.  Jason Tetro is a microbiologist. The Germ Code's Amazon Intro: Since the dawn of the human race, germs have been making us sick. Whether the ailment is a cold, the flu, diabetes, obesity or certain cancers, the likely cause is germs. Our ancient enemies have four families - bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protozoa - and many names: Ebola, E. coli, salmonella, norovirus, gonorrhea. Human beings are engaged in a "war on germs," in which we develop ever-more sophisticated weapons and defensive strategies. But it is a war we can never win. Our best plan for staying as healthy is to choose our battles carefully, and try to co-exist with germs as best we can.  In comparison, The Germ Files will answer your questions about everything from preventing flu to selecting probiotics, while constantly surprising you with revelations about the miraculous workings of the microscopic world. Here's some of the everyday advice we can take from him in an article HERE. Towels:  It depends on the room. Bath towels become loaded with bacteria (including staph and fecal) and if your towel doesn’t fully dry, that bacteria can grow. Plus, dandruff-causing fungi can also grow in them, Rapinchuk recommends swapping out bath towels every other day. Your kitchen towels collect bacteria every time you handle food and wash your hands. Tetro recommends washing those weekly, unless you handled raw meat. In that case, wash the towel immediately. Doorknobs:  Once a week (in some rooms). Though doorknobs accumulate a lot of bacteria, they need only need to be washed infrequently, says Rapinchuk. However, doorknobs in the bathroom and the kitchen are bound to catch a lot more bacteria, so disinfecting them at least once a week might be a good idea, especially if there’s an illness in the house. Sinks:  Every day. Even if they look clean, sinks can get really gross — Tetro says the bathroom sink accumulates fecal matter (from washing your hands after you use the bathroom). Also, bacteria from food, like E.Coli and Salmonella, can contaminate the kitchen sink, especially if you’ve been handling raw meat. When water splashes back up onto your hands, they’re contaminated, too. To stay on the safe side, wipe down your sinks daily. Today's picture comes from Fine Art America, where I have a gallery.  It was taken at Salt Spring Island, where sand and stone meet at the beach to create an abstract image.

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