The Weird Times
Inner Monologues and Desultory Reporting from Outer Spaces: Issue 223, August 18, 2024 (V5 #15)
Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women. When it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can save it.—Judge Learned Hand
Hopefulness is not a neutral position. It is adversarial. It is the warrior emotion that can lay waste to cynicism. Each redemptive or loving act, as small as you like – such as reading to your little boy... keeps the Devil down in the hole.—Nick Cave.
Books, Music, Art, Culture
Gena Rowlands: the fiercest, most incandescent star of US indie cinema: Subtle yet tough and fearless, the actor blazed a trail through American movies in the 70s – in particular in close collaboration with her husband John Cassavetes, Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian, 8/15/24: “Rowlands was a strong, passionate heroine in the tradition of Barbara Stanwyck, Bette Davis and Lauren Bacall.”
Mesmeric and beautiful, Alain Delon was one of cinema’s most mysterious stars: Whether playing the lover opposite Marianne Faithfull or the assassin in Le Samouraï, the prolific French actor, who has died aged 88, was a symbol of the lost beauty of the 60s, Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian, 8/18/24
How Jacqueline Susann and Jackie Collins Changed the Face of Publishing: on Two Trailblazing Women Who Revolutionized the Book World, Gill Paul, LitHub, 8/13/24: “Both Susann and Collins wrote about strong women with their own careers, who took control in the boardroom as in the bedroom.”
‘I do see poetry and rap as one and the same.’ Noname carries forward a legacy, Christopher Soto, LA Times, 8/15/24: “I think art is art. But action is something else. I think about how I can push my narrative with art. Gotta be careful with art because art can condition us. A lot of what we value culturally is based on movies that we watch, music that we listen to, books that are popularized and that we read. I think there’s a reason why there’s not a bunch of leftist art on the radio. Art is often used as a tool by capitalists or by the state.”
Book Bars Gain Momentum Around New York: People are looking to ditch screen time in exchange for a low-key drink and conversation, Melissa Kravitz Hoeffner, NY Eater, 8/14/24
Sex and Screens, Patrick Nathan, Entertainment, Weakly, 8/13/24: “…one might say that the screen in your pocket has broken your will and rallied you to its cause.”
Flaming out? Burning Man festival fails to sell out for first time in a decade: Rising cost of living and climate crisis have played spoilers to the celebration, which has sold out every year since 2011, Cecilia Nowell, The Guardian, 8/14/24
Theo Economics: Fundamentalist Materialism, Rob Brezsny, Astrology Newsletter, 8/13/24: “…the materialist mindset has been the main cause of hostilities between nations. People who believe there's nothing of value except what's economically and politically useful are the most dangerous of all.”
Are We Living in the Age of Info-Determinism? Increasingly, our networks seem to be steering our history in ways we don’t like and can’t control, Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 8/13/24: “Until very recently, the cultural cocoon we lived in was woven by other humans. Going forward, it will be increasingly designed by computers.”
‘We Took Care of the Network:’ The Catalan psychiatrist Francesc Tosquelles imagined an asylum that could cure not only individual patients but society itself, Hannah Zeavin, NY Review of Books, 8/17/24: “…institutional psychotherapy stopped short of doing away with institutionalization altogether, but it proposed undoing the hierarchal arrangements that governed the typical asylum and establishing reciprocal relations among patients, staff, and society at large.”
The power (and joy) of talking to strangers: A conversation with Joe Keohane, Karen Christensen, Newsletter, 8/13/24: “I think the solution lies in third places, where you can enter as a stranger and feel welcome, and where there is enough going on to keep you from pulling out a phone. The best third places have beautiful or at least interesting things to look at.”
‘It speaks of heritage’: South Carolina sweetgrass festival preserves Gullah Geechee culture: Centuries-old tradition of sweetgrass basket weaving began with enslaved people and has passed through generations, Adria R. Walker, The Guardian, 8/13/24: “And so the work that we do now is even more steadfast because we have to really share with the nation and the world that this matters today as it mattered three centuries ago.”
To Dream of Beauty: On the Possibility of Afrofuturism as a Solution to Climate Catastrophe: the Intersections of Systemic Racism and Systematic Destruction of the Environment, Christopher J. Schell, LitHub, 8/15/24: “Afrofuturism at its core is a metaphysical and symbolic struggle to dream of beauty regardless of the current reality.”
Push on it again,
that point of light.
What do you think
light is?
What is anything?
—from “Conversations,” Rae Armentrout (from her new book, Go Figure)
Politics, Technology, Economics
What if Trump Tries to Steal the Election Again? Joyce Vance, Civil Discourse, 8/16/24: “Trump will not go quietly into the night if he loses in 2024. He has too much at stake—like staying out of prison…. Trump needs to be defeated by such overwhelming numbers of votes that it’s virtually impossible to claim fraud.”
6 Billionaire Fortunes Bankrolling Project 2025: More than $120 million from a few ultra-wealthy families has powered the Heritage Foundation and other groups that created the plan to remake American government, Joe Fassler, Desmog, 8/14/24
Art of the Plea Deal, Scott Galloway, No Mercy/No Malice, 8/16/24: “It’s increasingly likely Trump will exit the presidential race in exchange for an omnibus deal, across jurisdictions, that keeps him out of jail.” DW: an interesting possibility to consider.
Heeeere’s Tim! Governor and Mrs. Walz break the Democrats’ pattern of seeming to prefer the coasts, Ian Frazier, NY Review of Books, 8/13/24: “Not enough Democrats know enough about the part of the US that’s not the coasts.”
The 8 races and 3 long shots that could determine Senate control: Republicans are all but guaranteed to pick up at least one seat, putting even more pressure on Democrats to win seven other highly competitive races, including two in red states, Hannah Recht, Liz Goodman, Washington Post, 8/16/24
What Populism Is—And Isn't: Everything you need to know about the buzziest and most dangerous political force of our time, Shikha Dalmia, Persuasion, 8/14/24: “Wherever populism appears, so do various forms of illiberalism that if allowed to run their course result in strongman politics with its contempt for dispersed power, checks and balances, freedom of the press, and other constraints on one-man (or woman) rule.”
Armed and Underground: Inside the Turbulent, Secret World of an American Militia, Joshua Kaplan, ProPublica, 8/17/24: “The next election won’t be decided at a Ballot Box. It’ll be decided at the ammo box.” (quote from a leader of AP3—American Patriots Three Percent)
Getting back together: Swifties mobilize to support Kamala Harris: Swifties4Kamala has 180,000 followers as fans of world’s most famous ‘childless cat lady’ emerge as political force, Carter Sherman, The Guardian, 8/12/24
Wait... Evangelicals for Harris?! The surprising group supporting the Vice President, Charlotte Clymer, Web Thoughts, 8/14/24: “Wonderfully strange times, indeed.”
The Press Must Explain Its Stunning Double Standard on Leaks: In 2016, when Clinton campaign emails were leaked, the press ran with them hot and heavy. But today, the same outlets are sitting on a Trump campaign hack. Why? Parker Malloy, New Republic, 8/16/24: “… is this an overcorrection in a way that, once again, just happens to benefit Donald Trump?”
The French Revolution brings you... The American Revolution! Oh, wait a minute: shouldn't that be the other way around? Margaret Atwood, In the Writing Burrow, 8/13/24: “The original American Revolution was less a civil war than — by that time— a protest against foreign rule. It was relatively civilized and surprisingly non-vengeful. The losing army went home, because they could.”
Stock market turmoil from the perspective of the very long-run, Adam Tooze, Chartbook, 8/12/24: “For all the talk of the dominance of tech, markets today are far more diversified than they were in 1900.”
The Slow-Burn Nightmare of the National Public Data Breach: Social Security numbers, physical addresses, and more—all available online. After months of confusion, leaked information from a background-check firm underscores the long-term risks of data breaches, Lily Hay Newman, Wired, 8/16/24: “We have become desensitized to the never-ending leaks of personal data, but I would say there is a serious risk…”
The good hacker: can Taiwanese activist turned politician Audrey Tang detoxify the internet? As the ‘civic hacker’ who became Taiwan’s first transgender cabinet minister, she is used to breaking boundaries. What can the rest of the world learn from her vision of a happy and inclusive web? Simon Hattenstone, The Guardian, 8/17/24
As a former IDF soldier and historian of genocide, I was deeply disturbed by my recent visit to Israel: This summer, one of my lectures was protested by far-right students. Their rhetoric brought to mind some of the darkest moments of 20th-century history – and overlapped with mainstream Israeli views to a shocking degree, Omer Bartov, The Guardian, 8/13/24
“if we die all together,
death is a feast.”
—from “Sudanese Saying,” Pierre Joris (featured poem this week in The Guardian)
Science, Environment
When to see one of the biggest and brightest full moons of the year: An August full moon, often called the sturgeon moon, will grace the sky on Monday, Kasha Patel, Washington Post, 8/17/24
Indigenous Activists Are Leading the Fight Against Fossil Fuel Colonialism: The growing visibility and power of Indigenous movements have created enormous potential for fundamentally changing our world in a positive fashion, Aviva Chomsky, The Nation, 8/14/24
Art meets science in sweeping U.S. climate report: The online gallery’s paintings, drawings, and beadwork highlight how climate change is affecting the U.S., YCC Team, Yale Climate Connections, 8/12/24: “Every few years, the U.S. government releases the National Climate Assessment, a comprehensive report on the effects of climate change in the U.S. The most recent report includes something unexpected – an online art gallery.”
How Close Are the Planet’s Climate Tipping Points? Earth’s warming could trigger sweeping changes in the natural world that would be hard, if not impossible, to reverse, Raymond Zhong, Mira Rojanasakul, NY Times, 8/11/24: “The longer we wait to slash emissions the farther we go into dangerous territory.”
Giant old saguaros can be resilient. It's baby saguaros researchers are worried about, Alina Hartounian, NPR, 8/14/24: “Human-caused climate change driven primarily by the burning of fossil fuels is robbing the Sonoran Desert of the conditions needed to help baby saguaro take root and thrive.”
A Path Toward Understanding Regional Sea Level Rise: Finer-resolution models, as well as an improved understanding of ocean shelf–sea processes, are key to understanding the way different coastlines will be affected by rising waters, extreme storm surges, and waves, Nathaniel Scharping, Eos, 8/13/24
Faced With Heavier Rains, Cities Scramble to Control Polluted Runoff: To manage contaminated stormwater, Philadelphia went all in on “green” infrastructure, like rain gardens and permeable pavement. But an increase in extreme rain events is spurring other U.S. cities to double down on traditional sewer upgrades that can handle the overflow, Jon Hurdle, Yale Environment 360, 8/15/24
Who's to blame for PFAS in our drinking water? Here's what hundreds of cities say, Austin Fast, Cecilia Garzilla, USA Today, 8/14/24: “…local officials most frequently blame airports; utilities, such as sewage treatment plants; and military bases as likely sources of toxic "forever chemicals" in their drinking water.”
We’re Burning More Climate-Warming Coal Than Ever. Why? Will Wade, Bloomberg News, 8/12/24: “World leaders will need to step up international efforts to curb coal consumption to reach the widely cited goal of “net zero” global emissions by 2050.”
Lawsuit Against a Small Wisconsin Town Poses Critical Test for CAFO Regulations: The state’s biggest business lobby helps two residents challenge a Polk County town’s restrictions on livestock feeding operations, Bennet Goldstein, Barn Raiser, 8/15/24
When Is “Recyclable” Not Really Recyclable? When the Plastics Industry Gets to Define What the Word Means: Companies whose futures depend on plastic production are trying to persuade the federal government to allow them to put the label “recyclable” on plastic shopping bags and other items virtually guaranteed to end up in landfills and incinerators, Lisa Song, ProPublica, 8/15/24
Making fast shipping cheaper and more fuel efficient could ironically backfire for climate: “Policies that focus on particular technological solutions rather than an end goal can lead to unintended consequences,” say researchers, Sarah DeWeerdt, Anthropocene, 8/13/24
A Trip to One of the Hottest Cities on the Planet: Where almost no one has air-conditioning, Ross Andersen, The Atlantic, 8/13/24: “The day’s heat peaks right around the afternoon prayer call and lingers after sunset, trapped in the asphalt and cement.” (No paywall)
Banana apocalypse, part 2 – a genomicist explains the tricky genetics of the fungus devastating bananas worldwide, Lin-Jun Ma, The Conversation, 8/16/24: “…a major cause for the recent resurgence of this fungal infection is the domination of the international banana industry by a single clone of banana….Growing different varieties of bananas can make agriculture more sustainable and reduce disease pressure on a single crop.”
How the world’s last wild red wolves are avoiding extinction: The endangered wolves face multiple threats, from cars to climate change. A renewed push to save them in eastern North Carolina has brought cautious optimism, Brady Dennis, Washington Post, 8/15/24
The Promise of Vertical Farming: Our relationship to food, agriculture, land, and rural areas is about to change dramatically, Tomas Pueyo, Uncharted Territories, 8/16/24: “Today, the amount of food we produce is limited by the amount of land dedicated to it. Vertical farming has already released this shackle because we can stack floors of plants.”
U.S. Wind and Solar Are on Track to Overtake Coal This Year: Two renewable resources, wind and solar, together have produced more power than coal through July—a first for the U.S., Benjamin Storrow, Scientific American, 8/13/24
This Is the Most Detailed Map of Brain Connections Ever Made: In a world first, Harvard biologists worked with Google to diagram a cubic millimeter of human cerebral cortex at the subcellular level, paving the way for the next generation of brain science, Isabel Frazier, Wired, 8/15/24
Enormous hidden ocean discovered under Mars could contain life: Scientists examining data from NASA's InSight Lander have revealed the likely presence of an underground reservoir containing enough liquid to cover the planet with a mile of water, Ben Turner, LiveScience, 8/12/24
Those who love lightly as houseflies
do so because they expect calamity,
and those who love passionately
demand a righting of ancient wrongs.
—from “Habit,” Esther Lin
Health, Wellness
Dementia risk factors identified in new global report are all preventable – addressing them could reduce dementia rates by 45%, Eric B. Larson, Laura Gitlin, The Conversation, 8/12/24: “In midlife, addressing hearing loss, high LDL cholesterol, depression, traumatic brain injury, physical inactivity, diabetes, smoking, hypertension, obesity and excessive alcohol. In later life, reducing social isolation, air pollution and vision loss.”
Yoga for the brain: How it helps cognition, may protect against decline: Yoga provides physical and mental health benefits through four main components: breathing, physical relaxation, mindfulness meditation and postures, Richard Sima, Washington Post, 8/15/24
Feeling old? Your molecules change rapidly around ages 44 and 60: Shifts in abundance of over 135,000 types of molecules and microbes related to age did not occur gradually over time, but clustered around two ages, a study showed, Leo Sands, Washington Post, 8/14/24
Weight-loss drugs like Wegovy may help stave off some cancers, Yuki Noguchi, NPR, 8/12/24: “Scientists see this class of drugs, called GLP-1 agonists, as a breakthrough … in several recent studies, they show early promise in preventing many common cancers…”
This Code Breaker Is Using AI to Decode the Heart’s Secret Rhythms: Inspired by his expertise in breaking ancient codes, Roeland Decorte built a smartphone app that continuously listens for signs of disease hidden in our pulse, Amit Katwala, Wired, 8/15/24
Say 'aah' and get a diagnosis on the spot: is this the future of health? University of South Australia, Science Daily, 8/13/24: “A computer algorithm has achieved a 98% accuracy in predicting different diseases by analyzing the color of the human tongue.”
Birds, Birding
Maui resort agrees to dim lights to protect native seabirds, Savannah Harriman-Pote, Hawaiʻi Public Radio, 8/12/24: “Petrels, also known as ʻuaʻu, can become disoriented by bright lights while flying at night. The birds, especially young fledglings, may collide with structures or fly in circles until they fall to the ground from exhaustion.”
The American West’s megafires are silencing birds: One sound index used to monitor biodiversity fell by as much as 15 percent following particularly smoky days, according to a new study, Naveena Sadasivam, Grist, 8/14/24
I say this every week because I really mean it — wherever you are, whoever you are with, whatever you are doing — thanks for who you are and what you do. Please continue to keep in touch. Send messages and your own news. Hearing from you makes this all worthwhile.
Above all, stay well; share love; work for good. We need each other—now more than ever.
Love always—David