The Weird Times
Inner Monologues and Desultory Reporting from Outer Spaces: Issue 242, December 29, 2024 (V5 #34)
I walked
New Year's Day
beside the trees
my father now gone planted
evenly following
the road
Each
spoke
—Lorine Niedecker
Books, Music, Art, Culture
Who Makes the Ball Drop on New Year's Eve? Stacey Harwood-Lehman, Best American Poetry, 12/27/24: “This year, when you join the billions of people who count down the final seconds of 2024 while watching the famous Ball-drop, remember that it was created by a Jewish immigrant with humble beginnings whose genius found its full expression in the USA.” (Jacob Starr)
Baldwin’s Spell: In James Baldwin’s writing and public appearances, the social and personal, the spoken and written dissolve into one, Darryl Pinckney, NY Review of Books, 1/19/25 issue: “Harlem was for much longer the ‘symbol of the Negro’s perpetual alienation.’”
Finding Lost Voices: The Circumambulation of Mt. Tamalpais and the Botanist Alice Eastwood (1859 - 1953), Iris Jamahl Dunkle, Finding Lost Voices, 12/26/24: “Eastwood was a self-taught botanist who later became the Curator of Botany at the California Academy of Sciences from 1892 to 1949…. she botanized Mt. Tam actively from 1912 to 1929…when my young, hippie parents were hiking Mt. Tam, they saw the wild irises pocking a meadow and decided that they would name their daughter after that flower. A flower whose habitat wouldn’t exist had Eastwood not fought to preserve it.”
They’ll Still Be Carding You: Benjamen Walker reviews Greg Barnhisel’s “Code Name Puritan,” LA Review of Books, 12/24/24: “Pearson’s scholarship revealed both the uniqueness of American civilization and the need to defend it from the evils of Nazism… Peter Matthiessen recalls that his favorite professor personally advised him to join the CIA, which he did, and he founded The Paris Review as part of his cover story, allowing him to surveil Paris-based expats like Richard Wright.” Book: Code Name Puritan: Norman Holmes Pearson at the Nexus of Poetry, Espionage, and American Power
How Much Does Our Language Shape Our Thinking? English continues to expand into diverse regions around the world. The question is whether humanity will be homogenized as a result, Manvir Singh, New Yorker, 12/23/24: “If ways of speaking can alter ways of thinking, ways of thinking can alter ways of speaking as well. The dynamic interaction between the two is part of the ongoing story of how we try to make the world intelligible to us—and to make ourselves intelligible to one another. Talk about the human conversation.”
Remembering the Forgotten on Shabbat Hanukkah, Rabbi Brant Rosen, Shalom Rav, 12/27/24: “Let us commit the kind of hope that is rooted in action: toward a world free of prison walls, a world where no one is disposable and the divine image in all is cherished and nurtured and liberated into its full and unfettered potential.”
How to walk like a New Yorker: A holiday guide for both tourists and locals, Samantha Max, Gothamist, 12/28/24: “Imagine your body is a car, and do with it what you'd do on a road.”
Have Yourself a Very Beach Boys Christmas: 60 years ago this winter, the Hawthorne legends recorded a holiday record in response to Phil Spector’s A Christmas Gift For You, setting the stage for Pet Sounds two years later, Matt Mitchell, Paste, 12/25/24: “If The Beach Boys’ Christmas Album proves anything, it’s that the Beach Boys were never going to just be some band singing about drag racing and chasing babes through Los Angeles County.” Song: “Little St. Nick”
Corleone-Style Diplomacy: World events in the context of The Godfather, Douglas Rushkoff, Rushkoff, 12/24/24: “Donald Trump’s world view is that he understands himself as a mafia don. I’m not referring any personal involvement he may have had with organized crime over his decades as a real estate magnate in New York; I mean an understanding of the world as a set of neighborhoods or territories controlled by bosses like himself.”
Think Slow, Scott Galloway, No Mercy/No Malice, 12/27/24: “Professor Kahneman helps me navigate the strait between instinct and decision…. When my kid is agitated, I recognize it’s more about what they are experiencing elsewhere, and they know that — no matter how unreasonable they are — I will still love them unconditionally. When my partner is upset, my role is to notice it, to give witness to their life. Their emotions matter, regardless of my ego or the perceived criticism.”
How I beat overwhelm: I kicked my news addiction – and discovered ways to make a proper difference: When I stopped watching, listening, reading and doomscrolling constantly, I no longer felt I was banging my head against a brick wall, Anita Chaudhuri, The Guardian, 12/29/24: “The news had become the psychological centre of gravity in their lives, more real somehow than the world of their home, friends and careers to which they dropped in only sporadically before returning to the main event.” (Oliver Burkeman)
Does life feel like it’s speeding up? How to slow down time in 2025, Miriam Frankel, The Guardian, 12/29/24: “Time flies when you’re… in a boring routine, according to research, which shows that new experiences, from foreign travel to a walk in nature, can alter our perception of time.”
Even now, these years later, I’m still
turning my head, listening for your words.
I know I imagine them into being, there
being nothing else I can imagine.
—Forrest Gander
Politics, Technology, Economics
Say No to Cynicism: We can endure and overcome the coming onslaught, but that requires not being overwhelmed or seduced by defeatism, Steven Beschloss, America, America, 12/23/24: “The more we indulge ourselves in fear, doubt and feelings of exhaustion, the easier it will be for them to win. This is not just the danger of obeying in advance, but obeying permanently so that they can win without a real fight.”
We cannot abide Donald Trump’s wish for a compliant news media: Fight the president-elect’s attack on independent journalism with a pro-truth stance, Eugene Robinson, Washington Post, 12/23/24: “Anyone who doubts the incoming Trump administration poses a serious threat to independent journalism has not been paying attention. An attack is already underway — and we journalists must not allow ourselves to be intimidated.”
Tuning in to the Good News: Tales of triumph, liberation, pleasure, and ingenuity, Rob Brezsny, Astrology Newsletter, 12/24/24: “Regard tales of affliction and mayhem and corruption and tragedy as no more interesting or worthy of your attention than tales of triumph and liberation and pleasure and ingenuity.”
You asked for 'action steps' for this troubling moment: Here are a few for your consideration, Margaret Sullivan, American Crisis, 12/23/24: (quoting Chris Murphy) “The only way that we are credible in attacking Trump’s attempts to deconstruct democracy is to make it clear that we want to reform democracy. Not in marginal ways. Like get private money completely out of politics through a constitutional amendment if it’s necessary; close the revolving door in and out of government, make sure nobody can trade on their influence to make money…”
Blueprint for a Progressive Revolution: Lessons From the Far Right: Using the Tea Party’s playbook to reclaim the Democratic Party and advance real progressive change, Thom Hartmann, Hartmann Report, 12/23/24: “We have 23 months before the next national elections and your mission is to show up at your local Democratic Party headquarters and begin the infiltration.”
How to Prepare for What's Coming: Trump, The Sequel, Elizabeth Cronise McLaughlin, ECM Newsletter, 12/26/24: “We do have power, and that power grows with every act of kindness, every neighbor supported, and every community relationship built on trust and revolving around a politics of caretaking and love. Let’s center our communities, protect the most vulnerable, and never lose sight of our shared vision for a more just, compassionate, and equitable future.”
These Progressives Will Guide Us Through the Darkness: Without a doubt, 2025 is going to be tough—but these visionaries give us hope in this uncertain time, John Nichols, The Nation, 12/23/24: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Lisa Blunt Rochester, Jasmine Crockett, JB Pritzker, Andy Beshear, Jimmy Williams, Jr., Chase Strangio, Rev. William Barber II, Cecile Richards…
How Democrats can win the messaging war: "Liberals trust the mainstream media — foolishly, I think. The trust is not deserved," Ryan Cooper tells us, Aaron Rupar, Thor Benson, Public Notice, 12/24/24: “You have, on one hand, the right-wing propaganda machine, which has been built up over 30 or 40 years now, and on the other you have a mainstream media that is just structurally hostile to the Democratic Party.”
The Future of the Democratic Party Lies Far From Washington: To restore the party’s fortunes, organizers should look to down-ticket races to build pressure against Trump—and create a new generation of leaders, Eric Schmeltzer, New Republic, 12/27/24
We can't memory hole the Election Day bomb threats: Healthy democracies don't normalize this stuff, Noah Berlatsky, Public Notice, 12/26/24: “The attacks demonstrate how fragile our democracy is. And they provide a blueprint for the MAGA regime to tamper in elections in the future.”
McCarthyism stalked my family. Its paranoia contains a lesson for Trump’s second term: Trump’s eerily familiar evocations of the ‘enemy within’ may be harder to shake off than the man who targeted my parents, Richard Sennett, The Guardian, 12/28/24: “I don’t think the ideology Trump stands for will fade after he passes on. His movement draws on a rich, nourishing stew of fears and grievances: racism, sexism, homophobia, nativism, climate denial. Enough to feed his followers for a long time.”
People With Extreme Wealth Should Give It Away—or Be Penalized: The gap between the ultra-rich minority and the vast majority has never been greater. But a wave of activist millionaires is asking for higher taxes, Ingrid Robeyns, Wired, 12/24/24
‘Living proof that you can spend money on the poor’: Utopia comes to Mexico City, Luke Taylor, The Guardian, 12/27/24: “A visionary mayor has harnessed her imagination to promote health, wellbeing and culture in one of the Mexican capital’s most impoverished neighbourhoods.”
America Needs a National Healthcare System: The for-profit health insurance industry has attached itself to us like a giant, bloodsucking tick and "Scientific Racism" is part of the reason why, Thom Hartmann, Hartmann Report, 12/27/24
The press is ignoring the real Liz Cheney scandal: It's not about her at all, Stephen Robinson, Public Notice, 12/27/24: “The real story here isn’t really about Cheney at all — it’s that Trump and his House Republican henchmen are already following through on his authoritarian campaign promise to persecute his political foes.”
The End of News: Legacy media has a trust problem, but it’s not too late to solve it, Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 12/23/24: “I think that the main problem of where we are right now when it comes to trust is this idea that we have to be pure and neutral and have no thoughts, but just be receptacles for facts. The more that we can transparently bring our expertise and intelligence to the task, the better it will be for everyone.”
‘We need dramatic social and technological changes’: is societal collapse inevitable? Academic Danilo Brozović says studies of failed civilisations all point in one direction – today’s society needs radical transformation to survive, Damian Carrington, The Guardian, 12/28/24: “At the end of the day, we have to radically transform society, and we have to do it fast. That means overhauling politics, policies and institutions, safeguarding food production and the natural world that supports life on Earth. That’s the recipe to mitigate collapse.”
Tech That Will Change Your Life in 2025: Weather forecasts will get smarter, EVs could get pricier, crypto will be for everyday investors and AI will be everywhere, Joanna Stern, Christopher Mims, Nicole Nguyen, Wall Street Journal, 12/26/24 (No paywall)
The Invisible Russia-Ukraine Battlefield: In Russia’s war against Ukraine, electronic warfare, including signal-jamming, anti-drone weapons, and innovative protections for critical military systems, has become a key piece of the conflict, Justin Ling, Wired, 12/23/24
Tonight, I expect the only star in the sky to be
so bright I’ll forget all I know about sorrow
—from “Fig of Unfolding,” Octavio Quintanilla
Science, Environment
They lived through the ice age. Can the mighty musk ox survive the heat? Rising temperatures are pushing these Arctic mammals ever farther into Greenland’s north. But eventually there will be nowhere left for them to go, Patrick Greenfield, The Guardian, 12/26/24
Green crabs have invaded habitats. Sea otters might be the solution: A recent study found sea otters are eating thousands of green crabs at a California reserve, reducing the invasive species’ population, Kyle Melnick, Washington Post, 12/26/24
Climate change could create millions of climate migrants by 2050: Droughts, floods, sea level rise, and other climate change impacts are uprooting people from their homes, YCC Team, Yale Climate Connections, 12/26/24
Electric air taxis are taking flight. Can they succeed as a business? Investors are pouring money into the high-risk, high-reward proposition that quieter, greener and battery-powered aircraft can revolutionize travel, Lori Aratani, Washington Post, 12/28/24: “Advancements in batteries and other technologies required for the futuristic tilt-rotor craft are moving so fast that they could soon move beyond the novelty stage and into broader commercial use in a matter of years.”
Healthier Cities Will Require a Strong Dose of Nature: If we can’t get to the forest, the forest must come to us, in the form of cities designed around green spaces, Kathy Willis, Wired, 12/28/24
As Birth Rates Plummet, Women's Autonomy Will Be Even More at Risk: Nations are more focused than ever on declining populations. Women, along with gender and sexual minorities, will see their rights come under fire, Angela Saini, Wired, 12/29/24: “History tells us that all freedoms are conditional…. the pressure on women is taking a more sinister turn.”
‘A place to heal’: Native tribes urge Biden to protect sacred lands before leaving White House: Environmental groups are also petitioning Biden to protect Sáttítla, Kw’tsán and Chuckwalla in California, Maanvi Singh, The Guardian, 12/26/24: “We’ve been fighting for this land for decades. We don’t want our kids and grandkids to have to keep fighting to protect their sacred lands. We want to have this space as a place to heal, to really heal from historical traumas.”
i never felt the sorrow of history
until it snuck up on me
on the threshold of rest
the day's second shift
extended and yawnless /
my salary gets hacked away:
soak the garbanzos
defrost the beef
this is a fact of reality
—from “ana versus the social totality,” Valeria Román Marroquín, Tr. from Spanish by Noah Mazer
Health, Wellness
Virus that threatened humanity opens the future, POSTECH, ScienceDaily, 12/25/24: “…developed an innovative therapeutic platform by mimicking the intricate structures of viruses using artificial intelligence (AI).”
New research identifies key cellular mechanism driving Alzheimer's disease: The breakthrough marks a promising target for drug therapies that slow, possibly reverse, the disease's development, GC/CUNY, ScienceDaily, 12/23/24: “We pinpointed a novel neurodegenerative microglia phenotype in Alzheimer's disease characterized by a stress-related signaling pathway.”
Birds, Birding
The bald eagle became the national bird thanks to one man: It has taken only 248 years, María Luisa Paúl, Washington Post, 12/25/24
Birds in CT are threatened by poison ‘more toxic than DDT,’ a report says. Can they be saved? Maureen Murphy, Hartford Courant, 12/26/24: “…neonics “are a class of chemicals that act as insecticides by exerting neurotoxic effect,”… the insecticides kill all manner of insects that birds feed on…”
L’oiseau
Chante
Vers
Le soir.
Au matin
Il
Fait
Ses gammes.
Birds
Sing
Toward
Evening.
In the morning
They
Practice.
— Malcolm de Chazal
Tr. by Sara Nicholson
TWT reflects my best efforts each week to collect and share what seems most important or useful to share with my readers. I know it can sometimes be too much for any of us to deal with. But please don’t let all the terrible news defeat you. There is so much we can do, all of us together. Our connections to each other will make a difference.
I recommend old age. There’s just nothing as wonderful as knowing you have done your job.—Nikki Giovanni
Be well everyone. Stay strong. And I hope you all are enjoying the holidays, however you may be celebrating.
See you again next year.
Love always—David