burgundy bug | The Burgundy Zine

June 4, 2021

Cruella and the DeVil-ish Pandemic Movie Experience

As I nestled into my leather seat at the new dine-in theater in Philadelphia, I began accepting my fate: “Hey, so it cost you $50 to see a movie by yourself,” I bargained in my head as a sipped my soda and consumed 30 minutes of ads. “At least you can name your article, ‘I Paid $50 to See a Movie in a Pandemic so You Don’t Have To.'”

But within minutes of the introduction to “Cruella,” my regrets melted like butter on movie theater popcorn (yes, I’m a lactose-intolerant vegan — movie theater popcorn and Werther’s caramels are my vices, so sue me).

“Cruella” was worth every single penny. The storyline was as intricately woven as the fashion throughout the film, the acting was absolutely incredible, the cinematography was great, and don’t even get me STARTED on that soundtrack.

Yet, the true cherry on top wasn’t necessarily a product of the film itself.

June 3, 2021

The Burgundy Zine #18 — Coming to a Blog Near You on July 28, 2021

DRUM ROLL, PLEASE! After a few unexpected delays, we’re thrilled to announce the NEW, official release date for “The Burgundy Zine #18: Imagination Recaptured” is July 28, 2021. As our first-ever bi-annual issue, The Burgundy Zine #18 will highlight an array of content we published throughout the first half of 2021.

The deadline to submit content for the upcoming issue of our digital magazine is July 14, 2021. With a little less than two months until the release date, let’s recap the submission guidelines for this issue.

June 1, 2021

Tune-In Tuesdays #108: “Soft Bits In,” a Chiptune Tribute to the Flaming Lips is Now on Kickstarter

Levi “Doctor Octoroc” has recently kicked off the Kickstarter campaign for “Soft Bits In,” his chiptune take on The Flaming Lips’ album, “The Soft Bulletin.”

Backers can enjoy a variety of rewards for pledging their support to the campaign, including: a deluxe digital download of the album, a special edition vinyl press, a two-hour “Chiptunes 101” master class with Doctor Octoroc, and a chiptune track produced just for you by Doctor Octoroc himself.

“‘The Soft Bulletin’ was one of the first albums I ever saw in a store and was like, ‘I want this album,'” Doctor Octoroc said during our interview about “Soft Bits” In last year. “It’s an album that I love, an album that I thought would go really well in the format, so I decided to go for that.”

May 30, 2021

Weekly Newsletter #98: It’s Cruella, Darling

It cost me $50 for one adult movie ticket, a small popcorn, and a diet soda to see Cruella on a whim while waiting for the train yesterday. And honestly, the film was so incredible, I’d pay $50 again just to see it one more time. But more about that’s to come next week.

In the meantime, let’s recap what’s been hot here at The Burgundy Zine and gloss over some exciting news elsewhere that you may not have heard about yet.

May 28, 2021

How Entheogenic Plants & Fungi Affect Memory

A major area of psychedelic research is its potential clinical applications in psychiatry. In particular, a major area of study has concentrated on the potential therapeutic effects of shrooms, acid, and MDMA for treating post-traumatic stress disorder.

“Memory plays a central role in the psychedelic experience,” begins a 2020 Psychopharmacology review. “The ability for psychedelics to provoke vivid memories has been considered important to their clinical efficacy.”

Throughout their review, the researchers found that psychedelics enhance autobiographical memory recall, which has therapeutic potential for overcoming traumatic experiences. However, psychedelics also have a dose-dependent effect of impairing memory task performance.

May 20, 2021

Thought-to-Text Interfaces are Just Around the Corner

While mind-reading interfaces that convert thoughts to text sound like a dystopian sci-fi plot that could go horribly wrong disturbingly fast, the reality may not be so far away — or as fallible, either.

When you first hear “thought to text,” your knee-jerk response might be, “Uhh, no way. What if I have an intrusive thought that I don’t really mean to send? Or an impulse to text someone I know I shouldn’t?” But the most recent brain-computer face interface studies don’t rely on decoding your internal monologue or raw thoughts.

Rather, researchers have programmed a brain-computer interface that decodes “attempted handwriting movements” from motor cortex activity. This technology allows people who have been paralyzed for years to imagine handwriting and translate that into texting at speeds of 90 characters per minute with 94.1 percent accuracy, which is comparable to average smartphone typing speeds.

Furthermore, that accuracy climbs to 99 percent with general-purpose autocorrect.

May 18, 2021

Tune-In Tuesdays #106: Out the Cage by Laurel Smith

Moody and mysterious, London singer-songwriter Laurel Smith entrances listeners with her sultry single, “Out the Cage.”

May 15, 2021

Health Diary Digital PDF Planner — Now Available on ETSY!

Editor burgundy bug has just released her Health Diary PDF planner templates on Etsy! The health diary comes in three different versions: a flattened PDF, fillable PDF, and DELUXE BUNDLE.

Along with both the flattened and fillable PDF templates, the deluxe bundle includes 22 free digital stickers to decorate your planners with. Burgundy Bug is also running a 25 percent off sale on all of her physical prints and stickers to celebrate the release of her Health Diary PDF.

May 14, 2021

Radiotrophic Fungi: The Fungus Among Us that Eat Radiation

Mushrooms: everybody’s favorite quirk of nature. From the psychedelic genus psilocybe and the Ophiocordyceps unilateralis that “mind control” ants, to the mushrooms that clean up oil spills and the mushrooms that may serve as planetary habitats, researchers have found yet another use for fungi: radiation protection.

“The greatest hazard for humans on deep-space exploration missions is radiation,” says a preliminary report in the bioRxiv journal. “Certain fungi thrive in high-radiation environments on Earth, such as the contamination radius of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant… These organisms appear to perform radiosynthesis, using pigments known as melanin to convert gamma radiation into chemical energy. It is hypothesized that these organisms can be employed as a radiation shield to protect other lifeforms.”

Radiosynthesis runs parallel to photosynthesis — but instead of eating sunlight (UV radiation), these shrooms are eating gamma radiation. And it’s all possible through melanin, the same pigment that determines hair and skin color.

May 12, 2021

Gluten & Inflammation — What’s the Link?

Brain fog. Fatigue. Headaches. Upset stomach. Widespread aches. Rashes. Sound familiar? Approximately 1 percent of the global population has Celiac Disease, an autoimmune condition triggered by gluten that damages the small intestines.

Meanwhile, it’s estimated that somewhere between 0.6 to 6 percent (or potentially more) have Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity. Although they share similar symptoms and characteristics, Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity doesn’t trigger an immune response that damages the intestines. The symptoms are short-term and have less serious consequences than Celiac Disease.

In either case, however, gluten triggers inflammation among those with CD and NCGS. But… why? Hasn’t bread been a staple of the human diet for the last 10,000 years or so?