The Weird Times
Inner Monologues and Desultory Reporting from Outer Spaces
The Weird Times: Issue 93, February 20, 2022 (V2 #41)
"We need an arms treaty between NATO and Russia. That’s what should come out of this fight we are all in right now."—Sara Houston Culver
Yes, everything is slow these days. Frederick Douglass had to wait months for the books he ordered from Amazon. Slavery and the Civil War was where the company placed the blame. People still are upset with Jefferson Davis for organizing the truckers in Canada. Let's meet at Fenway Park and see who can climb the wall. —E. Ethelbert Miller
Culture Rules
Why MLB Players Went On Strike In The Past And What It Tells Us About The Current Lockout, Tim Dierkes, MLB Trade Rumors, 2/15/22: “However, only one side can implement a lockout, and only one side can go on strike. Currently, we’re in a lockout, and I don’t think it’s reasonable to blame the players for going on strike unless they actually do, you know, go on strike. If the lockout is lifted and the players go on strike over these issues, then yes, the players would shoulder the lion’s share of responsibility for missed games and/or canceled playoffs. Until then, missed games fall on ownership.”
NBA commissioner Adam Silver: NYC COVID-19 vaccination rule keeping Kyrie Irving from playing at home 'doesn't quite make sense’ Andrew Lopez, ESPN, 2/16/22
How Buddhism has changed the west for the better, Rebecca Solnit, The Guardian, 2/8/22: “We are not who we were very long ago.”
Pokémon Legends: Arceus, and the Allure of Open-World Video Games: Increasingly, what players are seeking is a virtual environment that feels as inexhaustible as the real one, Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 2/17/22
Actor Noémie Merlant: ‘Women have been taught to see ourselves through other people’s desire’ Jonathan Romney, The Guardian, 2/13/22: “As long as it takes me somewhere else. As long as there’s the chance to take risks.”
The Immortal Influence of Greg Tate: His writing will be a touchstone for generations of critics to come, Stephen Kearse, The Nation, 2/14/22: “In his thinking and his collaborating, Tate committed himself to creating and honoring spaces where art and the kooks that obsess over it could flourish. Although those spaces continue to dwindle, thanks to Tate the blueprints are in many hands.”
Dara Horn on How Jewish History is Exploited to Flatter the Living, in conversation with Andrew Keen, LitHub, 2/14/22
Voices from Ukraine: A Reading List, editors, Words Without Borders
In Search of the Perfect Sound: Confessions of an Accidental Audiophile: on the Pastime That Took on a Life of Its Own, Garrett Hongo, LitHub, 2/15/22: “One morning, as I had the Huelgas Ensemble’s performance of Desprez’s twenty-four-voice psalm Qui habitat on the stereo, the Montana writer William Kittredge called. When I answered, he heard the music surrounding our telephone voices and exclaimed, “Heavenly choirs!—Hongo, are you dead? Or am I?””
Mushroom rabbi grows ceremonial psilocybin for Denver congregation — but is that legal? Rabbi Ben Gorelick and The Sacred Tribe underscore the changing — and conflicting — landscape for psilocybin, Tiney Ricciardi, Denver Post, 2/11/22
Muscogee (Creek) Nation, conservationists seeking to establish first national park and preserve in Georgia, Chris Dixon, Washington Post, 2/12/22
Red Tides: My father, and the ecosystem I loved, were both slipping away, Eiren Caffall, Guernica, 2/10/22: “Our global marine ecosystem works not dissimilarly from the circulatory system in the human body.”
The big idea: is it time to stop worrying about stress? Our beliefs about difficult feelings may do more damage than the feelings themselves, David Robson, The Guardian, 2/14/22
LILITH OF THE STARS
for there is another Lilith, not made for earth
of whom it is said / that when she is seen by men
it is as vapour / a plague / a cacophony
of unique bells / straining & stranger, they pursue
her unsubstantial cors thru this world
& the next. She is, in fact, the archetypal
foxfire of the stars
will o’the wisp of empty space
cosmic marshlight that lures us away
from the heavenly spheres, our home
to wander, forever, between quasars
at odds w/ the Sound of the Harmonious Crystals
temple flower of the abyss
windlass
on which is wound
that hope
which exceeds proportion.
Ship-That-Veers-At-An-Angle
White Fox that Leaps over Tombstones
—Diane DiPrima
Science Rules
Scientists build robotic fish powered by human heart cells: The experiment, which went swimmingly, marks a hopeful step in the advancement of heart treatments such as pacemakers, Samira Sadeque, The Guardian, 2/15/22
There’s an invisible ecosystem in the air — and climate change is disrupting it: New research shows how warmer temperatures could push atmospheric pathogens into new areas, Zoya Teirstein, Grist, 2/14/22
What are PFAS? Everything you need to know about “forever chemicals” and how to avoid them, Autumn Spanne, Environmental Health News, 2/15/22
New rare varieties added to Svalbard Global Seed Vault, Matthew Leiser, Eye on the Arctic, 2/14/22
Ask Ethan: What would happen if you traveled in a straight line forever? Is the Universe finite or infinite? Does it go on forever or loop back on itself? Here's what would happen if you traveled forever, Ethan Siegel, The Big Think, 1/28/22
Symmetries Reveal Clues About the Holographic Universe: How might our universe emerge like a hologram out of a two-dimensional sheet? An infinitely distant “celestial sphere” could hold answers, Katie McCormick, Wired, 2/13/22
DeepMind Has Trained an AI to Control Nuclear Fusion: The Google-backed firm taught a reinforcement learning algorithm to control the fiery plasma inside a tokamak nuclear fusion reactor, Amit Katwala, Wired, 2/16/22
‘Almost impossible’: Scientists study secrets of inland mangrove forest: The forest in Mexico dates back over 100,000 years, when seas were 20-30 feet higher, YCC Team, Yale Climate Connections, 2/17/22
‘Every year it astounds us’: the Orkney dig uncovering Britain’s stone age culture, Charlotte Higgins, The Guardian, 2/15/22: “Archaeologists excavating the windswept Ness of Brodgar are unearthing a treasure trove of neolithic villages, tombs, weapons and mysterious religious artefacts, some to be displayed in a blockbuster exhibition.”
Machine Learning Becomes a Mathematical Collaborator: Two recent collaborations between mathematicians and DeepMind demonstrate the potential of machine learning to help researchers generate new mathematical conjectures, Kelsey Houston-Edwards, Quanta, 2/15/22
The Quest to Make a Digital Replica of Your Brain: Digital twins are already used in manufacturing, industry, and aerospace. Now a European project called Neurotwin wants to make virtual copies of brains, Grace Browne, Wired, 2/15/22
The Biggest Galaxy Ever Found Has Just Been Discovered, And It Will Break Your Brain, Michelle Starr, Science Alert, 2/15/22: “Lurking some 3 billion light-years away, Alcyoneus is a giant radio galaxy reaching 5 megaparsecs into space. That's 16.3 million light-years long, and constitutes the largest known structure of galactic origin.”
Solar-powered system offers a route to inexpensive desalination: Passive solar evaporation system could be used to clean wastewater, provide potable water, or sterilize medical tools in off-grid areas, David Chandler, MIT News, 2/15/22
The difference between gray, blue, and green hydrogen: Hydrogen has potential as a clean fuel, depending on how it’s produced, YCC Team, Yale Climate Connections, 2/15/22
A new concentrated solar power system could cut energy costs to 5 cents per kWh: Solar power research heats up, Chris Young, Interesting Engineering, 2/16/22
Heart-disease risk soars after COVID — even with a mild case: Massive study shows a long-term, substantial rise in risk of cardiovascular disease, including heart attack and stroke, after a SARS-CoV-2 infection, Saima May Sidik, Nature, 2/10/22
COVID Won’t End Up Like the Flu. It Will Be Like Smoking: Hundreds of thousands of deaths, from either tobacco or the pandemic, could be prevented with a single behavioral change, Benjamin Mazer, The Atlantic, 2/17/22 (Ed. note – a brilliant insight that changes the way you think about Covid and vaccinations)
Crying won't help you, praying won't do you no good.
When the levee breaks, mama you got to move
“When the Levee Breaks,” Led Zeppelin
Environment
A big climate warning from one of the Gulf of Maine’s smallest marine creatures: In the oceans, the climate-driven warming temperatures set catastrophe in motion, Derrick Z. Jackson, The Daily Climate, 2/17/22: “The data shows that sea surface temperatures last summer were the second warmest ever recorded in the gulf, four degrees Fahrenheit higher than the historical average.”
The Field Report: A Deadly Bird Flu Resurfaces: Plus, new data on pesticide exposure, the USDA’s first Equity Commission, and organic fashion fraud, Lisa Held, Civil Eats, 2/16/22
This fuel plant will use agricultural waste to combat climate change: A planned California hydrogen facility will offer an important test of a technology that researchers say may be critical for cleaning up the atmosphere, James Temple, MIT News, 2/15/22
A vision for more sustainable farmlands: Central California can’t continue to farm at its current industrial scale. As land is fallowed, what could take its place? Theo Whitcomb, High Country News, 2/15/22
It Might Be Time to Take Methane Removal Seriously: An alarming spike in the second-most-damaging greenhouse gas is giving wind to a once fringe idea: Take it out of the air, Gregory Barber, Wired, 2/17/22
Replacing environmental despair with hope and action: It’s hard to avoid eco-anxiety. But by detoxing our social media feeds and focusing on community, we can all find good news and inspire change, Cielo Sharkus, Environmental Health News, 2/15/22
A musical interpretation of climate change pays tribute to Beethoven: If Beethoven were alive today, he would be writing music about the climate crisis, says composer Iman Habibi, YCC Team, Yale Climate Connections, 2/16/22
Rapid intensification of the emerging southwestern North American megadrought in 2020–2021, A. Park Williams, Benjamin I. Cook, Jason E. Smerdon, Nature, 2/14/22: “2000–2021 was the driest 22-yr period since at least 800. This drought will very likely persist through 2022, matching the duration of the late-1500s megadrought.”
The bad news about your avocado habit: America’s insatiable appetite for guacamole is threatening Mexican forests, Benji Jones, Vox, 2/13/22
An Indigenous Scientist Wants Us to Look at Conservation Differently, Kara Holsopple, Allegheny Front, 2/11/22
A Sort of a Song
Let the snake wait under
his weed
and the writing
be of words, slow and quick, sharp
to strike, quiet to wait,
sleepless.
-- through metaphor to reconcile
the people and the stones.
Compose. (No ideas
but in things) Invent!
Saxifrage is my flower that splits
the rocks.
—William Carlos Williams
Monee and Politicks
How Privatization Fuels Catastrophic Climate Change: Privatization deals in the realm of climate hand over decision-making from the public to private profiteers. That’s an untenable situation, Donald Cohen, Allen Mikaelian, In These Times, 2/16/22
NFTs are just the beginning of the Crypto Wealth Splash: We're about to find out what trillions of dollars of highly concentrated liquid wealth can do, Noah Smith, Noahpinion, 2/15/22
The Core Formula of Internet Businesses: LTV > CAC, or what other assets outside of network effects can businesses use to create massive Internet businesses, Thomas Pueyo, Uncharted Territories, 2/17/22: “the most scarce resource for Internet companies is… attention…And that’s why the Attention Economy is at the cornerstone of everything that happens online. You can’t understand the Internet if you don’t understand the Attention Economy.”
Bitcoin miners revived a dying coal plant – then CO2 emissions soared: Critics say the enormous electricity consumption needed to sustain cryptocurrency is fueling the climate crisis and now threatens a partial resurrection of coal in the US, Oliver Milman, The Guardian, 2/18/22
Rite Aid, wrong crime, Judd Legum, Popular Information, 2/14/22: “The Rite Aids in New York City were not closing because of a surge in shoplifting in recent months. Rather, last year, Rite Aid identified 63 stores across the country to close as part of a broader effort to "reduce costs" and "drive improved profitability."”
Last War Brain: On both Russia and inflation, many Americans are stuck in the 2000s, Noah Smith, Noahpinion, 2/13/22: “We need to leave those decades in the past where they belong — to learn deep principles from those historical episodes, rather than spending the rest of our lives in knee-jerk reactions against anything that superficially resembles the policies of yesteryear. The future is here; we’re standing in it now.”
Disinformation Doctors and Project Veritas Team Up to Harass Medical Officials: America’s Frontline Doctors and Project Veritas launched a video series devoted to Covid-19 disinformation, Micah Lee, The Intercept, 2/14/22
San Francisco recalls school board members seen as too focused on racial justice: In a warning for the left, critics saw misplaced priorities as the board focused on equity issues while schools remained closed, Laura Meckler, Washington Post, 2/16/22.
In San Francisco, Reason Beats Radicalism: While San Francisco’s educational issues are largely unique to San Francisco, the pattern of extremism and intimidation is not, David French, The Atlantic, 2/17/22
School boards get death threats amid rage over race, gender, mask policies, Gabriella Borter, Joseph Ax, Joseph Tanfani, Reuters, 2/15/22
How the new banned books panic fits into America’s history of school censorship: What’s at stake? Who gets to control the story of America, Constance Grady, Vox, 2/17/22: “You cannot protect Beloved if you’re purging Huck Finn.”
GOP culture war attacks 'alarmingly potent,' DCCC warns: The campaign committee has been showing House Democrats polling about how to counter GOP attacks on various issues, Sarah Ferris, Ally Mutnick, Politico, 2/15/22
New critical race theory laws have teachers scared, confused and self-censoring, Laura Meckler, Hannah Natanson, Washington Post, 2/14/22
Canadian trucker protests show how the loudest voices in the room distort democracy, Matthew Jordan, Sydney Forde, The Conversation, 2/16/22
Republicans who opposed racial justice protests hope truckers ‘clog up’ US cities: Lawmakers including Ron Paul and Ron DeSantis say they would back disruption of a Canadian-style trucker convoy, Sergio Olmos, The Guardian, 2/18/22 (Ed. note: Republican hypocrisy knows no bounds, no shame, evidences no reason, and shows no self awareness.)
Florida politicians behind "Don't Say Gay" bill backed by corporations that claim to support LGBTQ rights, Judd Legum, Tesnim Zekeria, Rebecca Crosby, Popular Information, 2/17/22
Elon Musk Reveals Jaw-Dropping Ignorance about Social Security: Musk’s blathering illustrates how the people at the top of U.S. society just repeat what are essentially billionaire urban legends, Jon Schwarz, The Intercept, 2/11/22
Sandy Hook families announce $73 million settlement with Remington Arms in landmark agreement, Kim Bellware, Washington Post, 2/15/22
Thank you, Sandy Hook families, for taking on the gunmakers, E.J. Dionne, Jr., Washington Post, 2/16/22: “The Sandy Hook families fought this case even though they were told repeatedly they couldn’t win. They battled for the right to disseminate information even though that meant rejecting an earlier settlement offer.And they were willing to relive an unspeakable tragedy for a decade to achieve accountability and a degree of justice. The nation owes them an incalculable debt.”
New Feature: Read of the Week (in which Ed. makes a suggestion – if you only have time to read one of the many pieces here, read this one:
Nature’s Say: How Voices from Hawai’i Are Reframing the Climate Conversation: A virile alternative to doomerism is emerging from the Pacific Islands, Audrey Gray, Inside Climate News, 2/13/22: ““It could be a light and drizzly rain with sunlight and rainbows, or it could be a drenching downpour that floods you and takes you away,” he said. “But so is love, right?” “
I pushed my soul in a deep dark hole and then i followed it in
I watched myself crawlin' out as i was a-crawlin' in
I got up so tight i couldn't unwind
I saw so much i broke my mind
I just dropped in to see what condition my condition was in
—Mickey Newbury, sung by Kenny Rogers and the First Edition
America’s Leading Podcast Creators Take a Stand for Democracy, Launch Pro-democracy Podcast Coalition: Podcast networks and hosts overseeing 100+ shows will use their platforms in 2022 to give millions of listeners the tools to protect elections and ensure Americans’ freedom to vote, RepresentUs, 2/8/22: “The Pro-Democracy Podcast Coalition is sounding the alarm for their millions of listeners: This is a make or break moment for our country and our democracy. If we don’t take a stand, we risk losing America as we know it.”
Why you should resist Amazon by cancelling your Prime account, Mark Hurst, Creative Good, 2/18/22: “…where Amazon is not essential – and Amazon Prime is not an essential service – the ethical choice is to dump the company and seek out alternatives.”
Notable birthdays this week: Anais Nin, David Foster Wallace, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Jane Bowles, Ishmael Reed, WEB Dubois, Haki Madhubuti, August Derleth, Anthony Burgess, Victor Hugo, Theodore Sturgeon, Elizabeth George.
Dreamland Court: A Novel, by Dale Herd, is available on Feb 22: “His underground novel Dreamland Court is simply a masterpiece," Kevin Opstedal, Blue Press Books.
With war about to be unleashed on Ukraine and who knows where else in Europe (and why is it always Europe that is where every major war begins?), it is tempting to start thinking biblically. The Book of Revelations lists the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse as conquest, war, famine and death, but in the older Book of Ezekiel they are sword, famine, wild beasts and pestilence or plague. Where do power-addled dictators fit into that alignment? As if a worldwide pandemic, the rise of right wing extremism and rapidly accelerating climate change were not enough. I always thought disasters came in threes, but maybe this is more like baseball and sacred geometry where the Golden Mean holds the source of all power, if we could only just touch it.
Buckle up, it is about to get really weird, for all of us now. I am holding space in my heart for peace: “May you be at peace. May your heart remain open. May you awaken to the light of your own true nature. May you be healed. May you be a source of healing for all beings.”
