SARS – It’s coming to take you away, a-ha, o-ho
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SARS is still spreading. World wide we’re seeing some dramatic attempts to prevent further spreading of the disease. In Beijing authorities today ordered the temporary closure of public places such as cinemas and libraries and suspended the approval of marriages as part of stepped-up efforts to stem the spread. As of the 26th of April, a cumulative total of 4836 cases with 293 deaths caused by SARS have occurred in 26 countries. Online newspapers are crammed with SARS scares. But what the same newspapers don’t tell you is that today Malaria killed 3000 African children. And the same thing happened yesterday. And the day before that. And even the day before that! I guess you see where I’m going here, and if you don’t, you’re just dumb. Yeah, SARS sucks big time. It may kill you. But for now, there’s only a 6% chance or so that you’ll actually die, if you’re unlucky enough get infected. And the chance for that happening is still pretty damn slim. Scientists all over the world are working on identifying the virus and coming up with a vaccine. You can even participate yourself.
Don’t get me wrong. SARS is bad. If it gets out of control, millions might die. 6% of the world’s population are a lot of people. And to be dead is not a good thing. But still. Why don’t we hear about those 21000 African kids who died of Malaria in the last week?
I finished Neil Gaiman’s American Gods yesterday evening. It’s a good book, but not so good that I feel I have to have my own copy in the book shelf. If you liked other work by Gaiman, the Sandman series is definitely worth mentioning, or you’re into Stephen King, then American Gods is a book you should read.
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KlasI also think the SARS-scare is a little overrated. Only 6% of the infected is dead, but how many of the rest have recovered? I can’t remember reading about someone making a full recovery from SARS. have you? They still havent made a cure for the disease either.
KristofferTry "Good Omens" by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. And anything else Pratchett has written. Another thing (but slightly related): Gaiman is just one letter away from "Gayman". That should explain all the gay sex of the djinnish persuasion in "American Gods"…
You just had to remind me, eh..?
KristofferYup. No gay sex in "Good Omens" though. However, it features a skeleton on a Harley-Davidson.
And that is, if you think about it, also something that would probably have puzzled Freud.
Kristoffer (Gjøsund of course)True. If your skeletons are roaming the countryside on a Harleys, they’re most definitly out of the closet.
I could throw in a joke about skeletons and "having a boner" here, but I think I better not.
