The Weird Times
Inner Monologues and Desultory Reporting from Outer Spaces: Issue 187, December 10, 2023 (V4 #31)
Here is the question at hand: how will a people weak enough to lose their political liberty ever find the strength to regain it?—Steve Schmidt
Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.—James Baldwin
Books Music Culture
Billie Eilish: What I Was Made For: When Eilish and her brother, Finneas, were asked to write a song for Barbie, surprising things came pouring out, Billie Eilish, Vanity Fair, 12/7/23: “As a girl, I think the freedom of being a little kid is something that we don’t really ever get back, and we don’t realize it until it’s gone. You feel like a person—then suddenly you’re being looked at by grown men, you’re growing body parts you don’t recognize, and you get your period. Sometimes I see eight-year-old girls, and I think, Oh, my God, look at how free you are! You hit a certain age and it’s about to be the worst stage of your life.”
What the Algorithm Does to Young Girls: Unpacking the toxic treadmill of internet addiction and low self-esteem, Freya India, Persuasion, 12/6/23: “…what I would say to Gen Alpha is simple: get off your screens. Delete the apps. What these continuous streams of content do is prevent you from taking a second to pause, reflect on who you really are, and realize where you are headed.”
Norman Lear, Who Reinvented the Sitcom, Dies at 101: Producer mined race, class and politics for comedy as he developed ‘All in the Family’ and other hits, John Jurgensen, Wall Street Journal, 12/6/23: “He’s the most influential producer in the history of television.” (Gift article)
Ryan O’Neal was a captivating and absurdly handsome movie star: The late actor’s beauty was used for a string of roles, including Love Story and Paper Moon, but he also displayed a rare comic prowess, Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian, 12/8/23
How the Poet Christian Wiman Keeps His Faith: Nearly two decades ago, Wiman was diagnosed with a rare cancer and told he probably had about five years to live. In a new book, he makes the case against despair, Casey Cep, New Yorker, 12/4/23: “For Wiman, the poem’s theological power comes from its confrontation with “a kind of absolute nothingness.””
Benjamin Zephaniah: Writer, poet and Peaky Blinders actor dies aged 65, Steven Macintosh, Yahoo News, 12/7/23
Jon Fosse says he would have stopped writing 40 years ago if he had listened to critics: Septology author uses Nobel laureate speech to say writing ‘can save lives’ as he recalls his early poor reviews, Ella Creamer, The Guardian, 12/7/23
Inside America’s School Internet Censorship Machine: A WIRED investigation into internet censorship in US schools found widespread use of filters to censor health, identity, and other crucial information. Students say it makes the web entirely unusable, Todd Feathers, Dhruv Mehrotra, Wired, 12/4/23: “It’s just like another form of oppression,” —Brooklynn Chavez, Student
What a gas station really means: The beauty of pass through places, Lyz Lenz, Men Yell at Me, 12/6/23: “…gas stations are monuments to the ever-changing nature of this country — the compromises and negotiations, identities, and snacks. They are our little churches of commerce and community. And in that way they are beautiful.”
I drove across the US to meet people I disagree with – and learned how to look beyond labels: As a progressive, queer, Asian-American, I held stereotypical views about people on ‘the other side’. My tour helped me realise that curiosity is a potent force for understanding, Scott Shigeoka, The Guardian, 12/10/23
The Terrible Twenties? The Assholocene? What to Call Our Chaotic Era: There is something paradoxical about pinning a name on an age characterized by extreme uncertainty. But that hasn’t stopped people from trying, Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 12/7/23: “The urge to name reflects the urge to understand.”
Taylor Swift and the Era of the Girl: ’Tis the season of giving women’s feelings the credence they deserve, Elaine Godfrey, The Atlantic, 12/7/23: “We are in the boom times of Girl Culture.”
The Male Insecurity Over TIME Honoring Taylor Swift is Delicious: 100% here for it, Charlotte Clymer, Charlotte’s Web Thoughts, 12/7/23: “Few things are more instantly pleasing to me than a certain type of man being irrationally disgruntled at the thought of a woman being at the top of the heap.”
7 Ways the Internet Will Get Weirder, AI Friends, vTubing, Infinite Worlds, Deepfakes, and More, Rex Woodbury, Digital Native, 12/8/23: “The internet is an enormous living, breathing organism—and it’s a deeply weird place.”
Florida says the purpose of school libraries is to "convey the government's message,” Judd Legum, Popular Information, 12/5/23: “Florida is arguing for an expansion of the definition of "government speech" to include public school libraries.” (DW: No surprise, it’s a bogus argument).
A new start after 60: I lost my husband, spoke my mind – and became an Instagram star at 97: Dorothy Wiggins was devastated when her husband died. But she was determined to embrace life, and quickly found fame when a journalist friend started filming her escapades in New York, Ammar Kalia, The Guardian, 12/4/23: “But life carries on and it is never too late to keep up with the times and try something new.”
I used to float, now I just fall down
I used to know but I'm not sure now
What I was made for
What was I made for?
—from “What Was I Made For?” Billie Eilish
Politics and Economics
The Trump Dictatorship: How to Stop It, Robert Kagan, Washington Post, 12/7/23: “We are heading into a new era of politics in America. We could do worse than go into it with a coalition of Democrats and Constitutional Republicans.” (DW: His idea for how to stop Trump relies on traditional Republicans standing up for country and democracy. Good luck with that.) Gift article.
Protecting Criminals is Now the GOP's Job as an Autocratic Party: Speaker Mike Johnson shielding Jan. 6 thugs from the law is just the start, Ruth Ben-Ghiat, Lucid, 12/6/23: “Authoritarianism revolves around the power to commit crimes with impunity.”
Reversal of content policies at Alphabet, Meta and X threaten democracy, warn experts: Media watchdog says layoffs at top social media firms affecting moderation create ‘toxic environment’ as 2024 elections approach, Kari Paul, The Guardian, 12/7/23
A CBS reporter refusing to reveal her sources could be held in contempt: First Amendment advocates are alarmed by the case of Catherine Herridge, who is facing an imminent court deadline and steep fines, Jeremy Barr, Washington Post, 12/8/23: “(Judge) Cooper ruled in August that Chen’s need for the evidence “overcomes Herridge’s qualified First Amendment privilege.””
Has "Corporate Personhood" Delivered America to the Brink of Dictatorship? You Betcha.....Corporations don't need pure food, clean air, or safe drinking water, but they control our government and elections… and the outcome is proving disastrous, Thom Hartmann, Hartmann Report, 12/6/23: “Corporations are pouring increasingly large amounts of money into politics, and like an invisible planet or black hole, it warps our political system to the point it has brought us Donald Trump.”
What Happened When the U.S. Failed to Prosecute an Insurrectionist Ex-President: After the Civil War, Jefferson Davis, the President of the Confederacy, was to be tried for treason. Does the debacle hold lessons for the trials awaiting Donald Trump? Jill Lepore, New Yorker, 12/4/23
Revealed: how top pop stars are used to ‘launder the reputation’ of Koch family: Stand Together Music, part of rightwing billionaire Charles Koch’s advocacy network, collaborates with Pitbull, Machine Gun Kelly and others, Geoff Dembicki, The Guardian, 12/7/23: “The network is trying to hollow out the regulatory state while getting Killer Mike to play fun free-speech parties that make Koch look like he’s beyond politics.”
Make no mistake—AI is owned by Big Tech: If we’re not careful, Microsoft, Amazon, and other large companies will leverage their position to set the policy agenda for AI, as they have in many other sectors, Amba Kak, Sarah Myers West, Meredith Whittaker, MIT Technology Review, 12/5/23
Why are your groceries still so expensive? A deep dive into a mysterious and troubling question, Noah Smith, Noahpinion, 12/8/23: “…there’s research to support the idea that grocery prices are especially important in terms of influencing people’s beliefs about the economy.”
Why Franklin, Washington and Lincoln considered American democracy an ‘experiment’ – and were unsure if it would survive, Thomas Coens, The Conversation, 12/5/23: “…republics – in which political power rests with the people and their representatives – and democracies were historically rare and acutely susceptible to subversion.”
The Two Nations of America: E pluribus numquam: We were never really meant to be one nation, Michael Podhorzer, Weekend Reading, 12/3/23: “We are a federated republic of two nations: Red Nation and Blue Nation.”
How America Ends and Begins Again: Because so much of what we have come to expect of our country is unraveling, we have an opportunity to build it anew, Sherrilyn Ifill, NY Review of Books, 12/21/23 issue: “We must pursue power to implement the demands of justice, and the justice that we seek must correct that which stands against love. I pray, encourage, and entreat you to join me and so many others who are committed to this struggle. I know that we can win, but only if we truly engage the fight.”
Don’t Move to Texas, Lucian K. Truscott IV, Newsletter, 12/9/23: “Republicans in Texas think that women and their doctors cannot be trusted to make their own decisions about the most profound issues of their health and reproductive rights, so the Republican-controlled legislature and the state’s Republican governor and its Republican attorney general have taken it upon themselves to decide what is necessary and what isn’t for Texas women.”
College presidents reveal three surprise truths about free speech and antisemitism, Jason Willick, Washington Post, 12/7/23: “Speech crosses into incitement only if it is both intended to cause violence and likely to cause violence in the imminent future.” (DW: these supposedly smart college presidents fell into a well-laid trap. They should’ve known better.)
What Is Happening at the Columbia School of Social Work? Pamela Paul, NY Times, 12/7/23: “Many students see themselves as social justice warriors, and protesting is the litmus test of being a real social worker.”
Excuse me, but the industries AI is disrupting are not lucrative: Gemini and the supply paradox of AI, Erik Hoel, Intrinsic Perspective, 12/8/23: “…the supply paradox of AI: the easier it is to train an AI to do something, the less economically valuable that thing is.”
Disinformation researcher says Harvard pushed her out to protect Meta, Shannon Bond, NPR, 12/6/23: “Donovan alleged the pressure campaign came as the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the charitable organization established by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, that was pledging $500 million to fund a new university-wide center on artificial intelligence at Harvard.”
The Forgotten Dispute that Could Ignite a War in South America: Here’s why Venezuelans just voted to annex most of Guyana, Quico Toro, Persuasion, 12/4/23: “And while it’s hard to imagine how Venezuela has the military capability to run a large operation in a stretch of unbroken jungle, when you’re a dictatorship, things don’t need to make sense in order to happen.”
Israel’s Impossible Dilemma: The IDF can hand Hamas either a Pyrrhic victory or a real one, Hussein Ibish, The Atlantic, 12/4/23: “If Israel leaves Gaza, Hamas will declare victory, which will be galling. But getting out—especially if it does so while taking the initiative to prop up the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and revive serious peace negotiations—could be the best way for Israel to turn that victory into a political fiasco for Hamas.”
Israel’s War on Gaza Now Resembles Our War on Vietnam: Mass bombing didn’t destroy the Vietnamese Communists and won’t destroy Hamas, but it sure kills lots of civilians, Harold Meyerson, American Prospect, 12/7/23
Their bodies tell their stories. They’re not alive to speak for themselves: NBC News has reviewed evidence that suggests dozens of Israeli women were raped, sexually abused or mutilated during the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks, Anna Schecter, NBC News, 12/5/23: “…Hamas militants were instructed to systematically carry out sexual violence on women and children.”
The race industry is a growth industry.
In suits they dither in fear of anarchy.
They take our sufferings and earn a salary.
Steal our souls and make their documentaries.
—from “The Race Industry,” Benjamin Zephaniah
Science and Environment
Earth on verge of five catastrophic climate tipping points, scientists warn: Humanity faces ‘devastating domino effects’ including mass displacement and financial ruin as planet warms, Ajit Niranjan, The Guardian, 12/5/23: “Triggering these planetary shifts will not cause temperatures to spiral out of control in the coming centuries but will unleash dangerous and sweeping damage to people and nature that cannot be undone.”
‘It’s very, very concerning’: Antarctica meltdown left penguin chicks drowned, frozen: Emperor penguins could be in trouble as sea ice declines, YCC Team, Yale Climate Connections, 12/6/23
The COP is the Scoreboard, not the Game: It's what happens in between meetings that matters, Bill McKibben, The Crucial Years, 12/8/23: “A new poll by CNN should give us heart—it shows three quarters of Americans want government policies that would slash emissions in half this decade.”
Following PFAS Up the Food Chain: ‘Forever chemicals’ are commonly found in freshwater fish, but most states don't warn residents, Hannah Norman, Barn Raiser, 12/7/23
Can Agriculture Kick Its Plastic Addiction? While the plastics used at every step of the farming process can boost productivity, they also pollute the soil and the food we eat. New research has farmers and advocates pushing for change, Naoki Nitta, Civil Eats, 12/4/23
How China’s buses shaped the world’s EV revolution, Xiaoying You, BBC, 12/6/23: “Strong policy support from both central and regional governments gave manufacturers confidence in setting up production lines and stepping up research efforts.”
Thailand tries nature-based water management to adapt to climate change, Carolyn Cowan, MongaBay, 12/7/23: “Nature-based solutions that incorporate the natural processes of the country’s abundant rivers, floodplains and watershed forests are beginning to be trialed via various projects at large and small scales.
New Forecasting Tools May Help Predict Impact of Marine Heatwaves on Ocean Life up to a Year in Advance: These forecasts could help fisheries avoid whale entanglements and unexpected supply chain disruptions, Kiley Price, Inside Climate News, 12/5/23
‘A scam all around’: Navajo Nation groups oppose hydropower projects: One such project in Black Mesa, Arizona, is awaiting initial permits and has sparked fears over water use in an area already grappling with accessibility to it, Michael Sainato, The Guardian, 12/10/23
In Massachusetts, the Never-Ending Fight over Herring Marches On: From cannons to lawyers, the weapons have changed, but the underlying dispute is all too familiar, Freda Kreier, Hakai, 12/6/23: “…the owners of commercial endeavors, from fishers to cranberry farmers, have continued to clash with herring supporters across New England.”
An Easy-Sounding Problem Yields Numbers Too Big for Our Universe: Researchers prove that navigating certain systems of vectors is among the most complex computational problems, Ben Brubaker, Quanta, 12/4/23
Young tyrannosaur died with a full stomach, remarkable fossil reveals: The young Gorgosaurus had dined on the drumsticks of two smaller bird-like dinosaurs, Carolyn Y. Johnson, Washington Post, 12/8/23: “The extraordinary specimen opens a vivid window into the behavior, development and diet of a predator that lived 75 million years ago.”
New England stone walls lie at the intersection of history, archaeology, ecology and geoscience, and deserve a science of their own, Robert M. Thorson, The Conversation, 12/4/23: “Every field of science requires its own language.”
All hearts float in their own
deep oceans of no light,
wetblack and glimmering,
their four mouths gaping like fish.
Hearts are said to pound:
this is to be expected, the heart’s
regular struggle against being drowned.
—from “The Woman Who Could not Live with Her Faulty Heart,” Margaret Atwood (1978)
Birds
Bluebird feathers inspire battery and filter material: A microscopic network of channels in bluebird feathers gives it its characteristic hue; mimicking that structure could give better batteries and water filters, Prachi Patel, Anthropocene, 12/6/23
What Elephant Bird Eggs Reveal About the Biggest Bird to Ever Live: What is the biggest bird to ever live? Learn all about the elephant bird from its enormous size to the massive eggs that provide insight into its existence and extinction, Jake Parks, Discover, 12/7/23
Bird feeding may give humans something to chirp about: A team of researchers at Virginia Tech and beyond is working to develop a deeper understanding of the relationship between bird feeding and human well-being, Travis Williams, Virginia Tech News, 12/6/23
Why dozens of North American bird species are getting new names: Every name tells a story, Jared del Rosso, The Conversation, 12/7/23: “…names shape how people relate to birds and the history of ornithology.”
Are we a nation that can defy the regular course of human history, where the Jewish people have been ostracized, expelled, and massacred over and over again? Yes. And I will do everything in my power—as Senate Majority Leader, as a Jewish American, as a citizen of a free society, as a human being—to make it happen. Ken Y-hi Ratzon, may it be his will.—Senator Chuck Schumer
My ongoing thanks to all of you who take the time to read this weekly compendium, and special thanks to all of you who have written to me.
Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, thanks for who you are and what you do. Please keep in touch. Stay well. Share love. We need each other, now more than ever. Happy Hanukkah to all.—David