Category Archives: News and Events

Freeze Frame – Finally, a bit of a slower week

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June 19 2025

Reno wind = messy hair.

I’m experimenting with a new series on my Substack, titled, Freeze Frame.


Sunset Captured from my Balcony – Friday the 13th! (June 13, 2025)

Thank you to my writer friend, Chantelle, for this great idea. For about 10 years, I wrote a journal entry every morning. I stopped a few years ago as I shifted to a different phase of my life. So when I saw Chantelle’s first post written in this way, which she titles, This Week I … , it really spoke to me. I asked for her permission to copy it as I love it so much!

Writing a once a week post touching on the senses is a fabulous idea! I’m going to try it, and most likely won’t be able to stay consistent. Especially when fall semester begins in late August.

Please let me know if you think this will be too much for your inbox; receiving this weekly share in addition to my Friday essay or poem. Since mine will be inconsistent and not necessarily covering only a week, or even the week in which I share it, I’m titling it, Freeze Frame.

I think I only have about 5 subscribers, so hardly anyone will see this. But, still, I write. I used to be really good at growing my audience, followers, subscribers, or whatever words are currently used by the different social media platforms. I just don’t have it in me to do whatever it is that needs to be done to grow that blasted count.

Watched: Finished watching Twin Peaks: The Return. I can see why Twin Peaks is a cult classic. We watched the pilot episode in the Craft & Writing class I took last semester; which studied the horror genre, diving into details of creating and writing horror.

It is the wildest, strangest, bizarre show! I was hooked! I watched the original two seasons. Then I watched the movie, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me. Then I moved to the lone season of Twin Peaks: The Return. It was a little bit nostalgic as I lived in the Seattle, Washington area from 1990-2006. I had never watched the series, though.

After watching everything, I still don’t know what the hell happened to cause the creation of the evil Bob. Was it the nuclear bomb in Los Alamos? Aliens? Both? Did it involve time travel? Different realities colliding? Who the hell knows? But is was so wild to watch!

Finished watching The Lost Highway. This was suggested by the Craft & Writing professor during our doppelgänger discussions. This is another wild and bizarre one. I have no idea what happened, or why. Lol.

I also watched the French eco-horror, Acid. It really spoke to the reality of how some humans will react in a life-threatening crisis. I found out last semester that as a UNR student I have access to Kanopy. For the horror genre class we watched A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night through Kanopy. I absolutely loved this movie. It’s a revenge horror. So good.

I also watched a gorgeous, stunning sunset, pictured above.

Read: I’m finishing Trumpet by Jackie Kay. This is one we read for my Women in Literature class last semester, but I didn’t finish it. I really like the story so now that I have time, I’ve picked it back up.

Listened to: During my walk this morning, I listened to Straight On by Heart, And She Was by Talking Heads, (Keep Feeling) Fascination by The Human League, Let It Be Me by Social Distortion, Head Over Heels by The Go-Go’s, Emotional Rescue by The Rolling Stones, and Photograph by Def Leppard.

Wrote: No fresh writing. I finished week 1 of being a TA (teaching assistant) for the summer session of Disability Ethics. So I wrote quite a bit in grading quizzes and discussions.

Tasted: I bought nectarines. There’s something about a juicy and sweet nectarine. Mouth-watering!

Continued walking memory lane: I continue to clean up and publish back-logged blog posts for our online family journal at TheTeamTLC.com. I do not post anything current on the site, and haven’t for about a year. The site was to document our lives while my kids grew up. When my youngest graduated from high school I decided to switch to posting only on my personal site, CamillaDowns.com. However, there are pages of draft posts that need to be published. It’s really neat coming across our library visits, walks, and dates from when they were much younger.

See you next week, or the next, or the next … Thank you for reading my writings and for subscribing!

Freeze Frame … Juicy Nectarines, Stunning Sunset, and a Walk Down Memory Lane by Camilla Downs

Finally, a bit of a slower week

Read on Substack

Chromosome 18 Gene Dosage Map – Thank You

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June 17 2025

This is the coolest, most useful tool! Thank you to The Chromosome 18 Research Center at UT Health San Antonio. I’ve been on a 2 year journey so far in trying to achieve a better quality of life for Lillian. Her quality of life has tanked to non-existent over the past few years.

(2014 photo of Lillian)

FINALLY getting to some answers and this gene mapping tool (for those of us enrolled in the C18 study) is incredibly valuable. It is a full time job keeping track of test results and staying on top of doctors and specialists to review results, and get referrals. Then referrals are denied. More phone calls, more work.

Recently, Lillian’s general practitioner referred Lillian to a hematologist for an iron infusion and to investigate why she’s anemic. They rejected it, indicating to try oral iron first. People. We are not idiots. Do they not think people would try the easiest option before the one that’ll be a headache and more work. Hematologist office wouldn’t talk to me about it. So I filed a complaint with Renown (did you know you could do that – you can!). Don’t take no for an answer when you know that you are correct.

I got a call today and they are going to have it reviewed again once the GP sends another referral indicating she has already tried the oral (she couldn’t tolerate it) and that she’s got a rare genetic condition and the anemia needs to be investigated further. GP will refer for iron infusion so we don’t have to wait.

Incidentally, they also denied my referral as I need my iron levels monitored so I don’t spiral down like has happened two times now. I also filed a complaint for myself and that’s being sent back with additional information. My dudes, I just need monitored.

All of this is so much damn work. I’m trying to get as much done as possible before fall semester begins. Hadn’t planned on sharing all of that. But, it feels good to share it!

Latest News: Absolutely Not – No AI Chat Bot

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June 16 2025

No, absolutely not. If you’re an admin for any groups, this feature can be turned off in the group settings. While I’m at it, if you don’t want AI results when searching on Google, just type -ai at the end of your search phrase. For example, what is critical thinking -ai … ✊✊✊

It’s way past out of hand. Along with hundreds of other author’s books, my first book was pirated and used my META to train AI. In addition to stealing copyrighted materials, it’s devastating for the environment, it kills critical thinking, and blurs the line between truth and fiction. It really could be the end of us.

I figured out how to remove the AI results without having to use the -ai. This way you only get web results, like it used to be. The AI results are there, but those results have their own tab. Google does not want you completely turning the feature off, so there’s no way (that I can find) to do it. Here’s a video explainer for what I did (not created by me) and a screenshot of how my searches look now.

Chad Basil the First – An Update – Please Help if You Can

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June 21 2025

Chad Basil the First had to visit the emergency vet a couple of weeks ago. $$$$$ For those that don’t know, Basil is Thomas’s emotional support cat. 😻😻😻 Thomas created a GoFundMe.

If you’re able to, or would like to help, sharing the content from Thomas’s post:

“My name is Thomas, although many people know me as Gigi. If you’ve known me for any length of time, you’ve probably become well acquainted with my cat, Basil. In the middle of June, I was woken up by him crying, which continued constantly for a long while after. He’s a very quiet and reserved cat who does not like to speak, even when he is very clearly in pain, so I knew he must be having an excruciating experience. When he started throwing up, I figured that he must have a severe blockage that was preventing him from going to the bathroom, since I’d noted that he hadn’t gone to the bathroom in days. If you are unaware, this is considered a medical emergency for cats, as they can die if it goes untreated.

My normal vet redirected me to a vet ER, where they took him in for scans. This was very early in the morning, and I was completely exhausted from having been kept up the nights before. After they didn’t find anything initially, they implored me to get yet another scan, which I caved to because of how out of it I was. After that one came back, they told me that nothing was really wrong (besides something else he’d eaten and would pass) and that he was good to go. It seemed like everything would be fine.

Not really. We ended up having to pay about $1500 just to learn he was fine. Although this was something we could technically handle budgetarily, it was extremely difficult. My mother’s work situation is already precarious, as both her income sources depend entirely on the funding for disabled service providers that the current administration is constantly cutting. I have only been working part-time due to being a full-time college student.

I know that these are difficult times for everyone. I don’t expect anyone to give something they can’t, and this is probably a minor situation in most people’s view, in the grand scheme. But even giving a bit of money is that bit more we can put back into paying this off.

Attached is the bill that we were charged. I will not be accepting any more money than what we were charged, and everything will solely be put towards it.”

Enjoying this Gig – Disability Ethics Teaching Assistant

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June 15 2025

Just finished my 1st week of TA’ing for the Disability Ethics class (Teaching Assistant). I’m assigned to week 1 and 3. I’m really enjoying this. However, some of the students may not be enjoying me due to my obsessive attention to detail. 🤣 I thought it was an exaggeration that students are using AI generated answers. Every once in a while I found myself reading the same answer over and over … Hmmm … Wait a minute! Pretty cool gig as I’m earning 3 credits for it. 💥💥💥

Cool answer bro. But it does not answer the actual question(s). 😁 I’m wild. I did a copy and paste of all the similar/identical answers so I could compare them as I went along. I’m visual so needed to see them together. I refuse to use AI even to test for AI. I’ll let the professor do that. 😎

I’ve been a student there now for a few semesters. I have met mostly impressive critical thinkers. It’s been great. It seems the critical thinkers are the one’s who speak up and want to discuss things in class (I know I do!) so maybe that’s why I’ve not seen the flip side to that. This is my first time being a TA so I’m seeing work product from the entire class.

Brain Puzzles – I Love Writing Essays

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June 7 2025

After two semesters and this summer class, one thing I’m learning about myself is how much I enjoy writing essays, putting texts in conversation, connecting dots = critical thinking. It’s like putting together a puzzle and it makes my brain happy. I’m also a title nerd. I love creating titles, especially edgy, attention grabbing titles. I wish I could linger a bit longer with so much of the material. I’m saving everything for when I (hopefully) have time!

Professor feedback for my Modern World essay:

Camilla,
This is a fascinating paper, linking the emergence of feminism to the printing press, the spread of literacy, etc. As you point out, Martin Luther and Olympe de Gouges were not the first to question the church and/or patriarchy, but it was difficult to spread those ideas without the right technology. Print was a crucial catalyst for the spread of radical new ideas. The paper also does a great job of connecting the emergence of first-wave feminism with a number of other radical movements: Enlightenment, the French Revolution, the Reformation, etc. It was a period of change and feminists were involved in all of these movements. It’s not only a tour de force of key moments from our class, but also a thoughtful contextualization of the emergence of western feminism.

Great work on this,
Dr. Morse

The Modern World – Core Credit – Finished!

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June 6 2025

Next to last core requirement done! We took the mid-term last Thursday and the final exam today! And the class is finished! A 14 day whirl wind of The Modern World. Wild times! I really loved learning about, and brushing up on, this time period. It’s absolutely mind blowing. Here’s the material we covered after the mid-term:

Industrial Revolution

Sarah Stickney Ellis from
The Women of England: Their Social Duties and Domestic Habits
(1839)

Friedrich Engels
The Condition of the Working Class in England
(1844)

Charles Darwin
Excerpt from On the Origin of Species by Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life
(1859)

Manifesto of the Communist Party
by Karl Marx and Frederick Engels
February 1848

World War I and Interwar Period

Dulce et Decorum Est
BY Wilfred Owen
1921

William Butler Yeats
The Second Coming
(1919)

Milk Raj Anand
Across the Black Waters
1937

Mohandas K Gandhi
from Hind Swaraj or Indian Home Rule
(1938)

Sigmund Freud
Civilization and Its Discontents
1933

World War II and Decolonization

Elie Wiesel
Night
1958

Aime Cesaire
Discourse on Colonialism
1955

Edward Said
Orientalism

Postwar Period: Cold War, Postmodernism, Neoliberalism

United Nations
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Jean-Francois Lyotard
T
he Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge
1979

Jean Baudrillard
from The Precession of Simulacra
1981

Wendy Brown
Undoing the Demos:
Neoliberalism’s Stealth Revolution
2015

We also had to write a 5-7 page essay:

In this essay assignment, you will identify a key theme that strikes your interest from among those we studied over the term and argue its importance to the modern world by pointing out the thinking that makes such a theme possible.

My goal is to graduate Spring 2026 so I had to take a few summer classes. Fascinating to connect the dots to what is currently happening with this fucked up administration. Half the population needs to take this class.