The Weird Times
Inner Monologues and Desultory Reporting from Outer Spaces: Issue 174, September 10, 2023 (V4 #18)
In the history of mankind many republics have risen, have flourished for a less or greater time, and then have fallen because their citizens lost the power of governing themselves and thereby of governing their state; and in no way has this loss of power been so often and so clearly shown as in the tendency to turn the government into a government primarily for the benefit of one class instead of a government for the benefit of the people as a whole.—Theodore Roosevelt, 1903
Corporations, which should be the carefully restrained creatures of the law and the servants of the people, are fast becoming the people's masters.”—Grover Cleveland
Books, Music, Art & Culture
What is the value of art in the age of AI? A discussion about the film Zima Blue with Animation Obsessive, Elle Griffin, The Elysian, 9/8/23: “A machine might be able to create a piece of art that is equal in skill and quality to something a person could create, but would we care that art without some attachment to the artist? Without some attachment to their story, their history? The way they think about the world?”
On Collaborating with AI to Write a Novel: "What will we do with its work when it is good? How will we reckon then with what this tool can do?" Sean Michaels, LitHub, 9/8/23: “Rarest of all, and most difficult to acknowledge, were the occasions when this greedy collection of mathematical rules presented me with an answer that made me pause for a moment, like a traveler who strays upon a fawn.”
Proust, ChatGPT and the case of the forgotten quote: In search of a half-remembered passage among the French writer’s voluminous work, I turned to AI to help me find it. The results were instructive – just not about Proust, Elif Batuman, The Guardian, 9/5/23: “’and be always laughing at my ignorance’….And if I was like that I would never feel insulted, by ChatGPT or anyone else.”
Elaine Equi on Poetry as a Spiritual Practice and a Universal Language: "In poems, we converse and commune with the zeitgeist or spirit of the age,” LitHub, 9/5/23: “At a time of toxic nationalism, it’s refreshing that in the world of poetry the tradition of cosmopolitanism remains strong.”
Psych-pop utopians Elephant 6: ‘Our plan was to humiliate the corporate rock industry:’ With bands including Neutral Milk Hotel and instruments including lawnmowers, the collective upended US indie rock. Its members explain how a new documentary healed their grief and led to new music, Stevie Chick, The Guardian, 9/5/23: “Jeff Mangum Live at Jittery Joe’s”
Forming an Edge: On the unfinished nature of kitchen knives, TW Lim, Scope of Work, 9/4/23: “There’s a sense in which they come to us unfinished, because we have not yet changed them – and they invite us to change our world in ways that only we will really know.”
Jewelle Gomez: the Black lesbian writer who changed vampire fiction – and the world: Her first novel was turned down by several publishers, then embraced by a feminist press. As an author, poet, playwright and activist, she has continued to claim space for queer storytellers, Hanna Flint, The Guardian, 9/6/23
Sen. Tommy Tuberville Says He's Worried About Sailors Reciting Poetry On Ships, Ron Dicker, Yahoo Entertainment, 9/8/23: “We’ve got people doing poems on aircraft carriers over the loudspeaker. It is absolutely insane the direction that we’re headed in our military.” Damn woke sailors!
Nikhil Goyal on the Ongoing Struggle for American Public Education: Diane Ravitch Talks to the Author of Live to See the Day, LitHub, 9/8/23: “The question I wonder about the most is: How can we renew the spirit of the New Deal?” Book: Live to See the Day: Coming of Age in American Poverty
Conservative book ban push fuels library exodus from national association that stands up for books, Meade Gruver, AP News, 9/5/23 “…part of a larger effort to diminish the public good, to take away those information resources from individuals and really limit their opportunity to have the kinds of resources that a community hub, like a public library, provides.”
This city in NJ just became a ‘book sanctuary' following rise in book bans across U.S.: According to the American Library Association, there were more than 1,200 attempted book bans in the U.S. last year -- up from more than 700 in 2021, and just over 150 the year before that, Gus Rosendale, NBC4, 9/7/23 (Hoboken)
60 Years Ago, One Simple Book Changed The Way Kids Read Forever: It’s all about three syllables, Matthew Kaplowitz, Fatherly, 9/6/23: “Hop on Pop was a turning point that transformed the way reading is taught and is still a great read no matter how old you are.”
The quintessential California bookseller behind City Lights gets his moment, John McMurtrie, LA Review of Books, 9/6/23: “Yamazaki will receive the prestigious Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community, presented annually by the National Book Foundation.” Bravo Paul!
Jorie Graham, looking to the future, has a warning for us: Her latest collection, ‘To 2040,’ is the culmination of a long career exploring humanity and the environment. Amid much despair, there is hope, too, Carol Muske-Dukes, Washington Post, 9/2/23: “Are we extinct yet?” she asks at the outset. Buy To 2040
And if I listen
now? Listen, I was not saying anything. It was only
something I did. I could not choose words. I am free to go.
I cannot of course come back. Not to this. Never.
It is a ghost posed on my lips. Here: never.
—from “Prayer,” Jorie Graham
Politicks and Economicks
The state of the war: Thoughts from Kyiv, Timothy Snyder, Thinking About, 9/8/23: “This is a war that can be won, but only if we are patient enough to see the outlines and the opportunities.”
The truth about Elon Musk and anti-Semitism, Judd Legum, Tesnim Zekeria, Popular Information, 9/6/23: “Musk, known for repeatedly associating with far-right circles, has a history of amplifying anti-Semitic speech.”
US ‘university’ spreads climate lies and receives millions from rightwing donors: PragerU is not accredited but has become a key tool in pushing false claims to youngsters – and raked in $200m from 2018 to 2022, Peter Stone, The Guardian, 9/6/23
Pennsylvania school district requires social studies classes to incorporate right-wing propaganda, Judd Legum, Rebecca Crosby, Popular Information, 9/7/23: “The curriculum was developed in part by Jordan Adams, an educational consultant with no experience developing curricula for public schools.”
American Democracy Perseveres—For Now: Antibodies against authoritarianism are still working, but the U.S. system remains under immense strain, Tom Nichols, The Atlantic, 9/6/23: “We’re already seeing this unwinding in slow motion.”
SCOTUS Has Placed Itself Above Congress, the Constitution, and the Founders: The Court itself has been corrupted by a handful of morbidly rich “friends” whose affiliated groups are constantly bringing cases or amicus briefs to the Court. Congress needs to act...Thom Hartmann, Hartmann Report, 9/7/23: “…in the past century, the Court has, in many ways, become the most powerful branch of the federal government and they’re neither elected nor subject to any meaningful oversight from Congress, the president, or We the People.”
Musk Shut Down Ukraine’s Attack on the Russian Navy, Josh Marshall, Talking Points Memo Backchannel, 9/8/23: “It’s as brazen as it sounds and what many have feared. Last September, after talking to an unnamed Russian government official Elon Musk either turned off or refused access to his Starlink satellite service to prevent a major Ukrainian attack...”
Mexican Supreme Court’s abortion decision expands access to millions, stands in contrast to US, Fabiola Sanchez, Megan Janetsky, AP News, 9/7/23: “The decision by Mexico’s Supreme Court to invalidate all federal criminal penalties for abortion opened access for millions of people…”
5th Circuit finds Biden White House, CDC likely violated First Amendment: The three judge panel found that contacts with tech companies by officials from the White House, the surgeon general’s office, the CDC and the FBI likely amounted to coercion, Cat Zakrzewski,Joseph Menn, Washington Post, 9/8/23
It's Time For Biden To Leave The Stage: The president's greatest legacy would be to make way for someone else in 2024, Andrew Sullivan, Weekly Dish, 9/8/23: “In the latest brutal polling, 49 percent of Democrats say Biden is too old for reelection.”
The Last Politician review: the case for Joe Biden, polling be damned: Franklin Foer delivers the goods on a president stuck with stubbornly low ratings and ever-present worries about his age, Lloyd Green, The Guardian, 9/10/23: “But there is something amiss in Foer’s enthusiasm and the administration’s posture.”
Take another look at Joe Biden. His is the presidency progressives have been waiting for: With Trump looming, Biden could still lose the White House. But this has been a transformative period of achievement, Jonathan Freedland, The Guardian, 9/8/23
Ohio’s working class felt deserted by Democrats. Can Biden win them back? The state voted twice for Trump but although many in the party admit they got things wrong not everyone agrees on what, Chris McGreal, The Guardian, 9/10/23
The Problem With ‘Elites’ May Not Be What You Think It Is, Pamela Paul, NY Times, 9/7/23: “You can defend your values, be a soldier for social justice and be merciless toward conservatives while still admitting when feckless people take liberal ideology to bizarre ends.”
As Climate-Fueled Weather Disasters Hit More U.S. Farms, the Costs of Insuring Agriculture Have Skyrocketed: Critics of the federal program say it encourages more carbon-intensive farming and are calling for Congress to lower subsidies for big, wealthy producers, Georgina Guston, Inside Climate News, 9/7/23
The Supreme Court Is Bypassing Science—We Can’t Ignore It: The court’s exclusion of scientists from the environmental rulemaking process comes full circle as the EPA strips federal protections for wetlands, Adam S. Ward, Adell Amos, EOS, 9/6/23: “With a silent Congress and activist court, environmental protections are evaporating as federal rules designed by scientists are overridden.”
‘Occupied by the US’: wildfires renew Native Hawaiian call for sovereignty: As disaster capitalists descend on Lahaina, Indigenous Hawaiians fight for self-governance, Claire Wang, The Guardian, 9/7/23: “Indigenous activists say restoring Hawaiʻi as a self-sufficient island nation is the only way to preserve it for their children and grandchildren.”
'Furious' at Army Corps, Tribe Calls for Public Support to Shut Down Dakota Access Pipeline: "The Corps' covering for the pipeline company's outrageous safety record and the reviewer's serious conflict of interest have now resulted in a failed effort," said Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Chairwoman Janet Alkire. "They need to start over with adult supervision,” Jon Queally, Common Dreams, 9/9/23
On the Tyranny of the Minority: Yascha Mounk, Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt discuss how to make America more democratic while preserving vital checks and balances, Persuasion, 9/9/23: “We need to get back to empowering electoral majorities—obviously, at the same time as we protect basic civil liberties.” Buy the book: Tyranny of the Minority: Why American Democracy Reached the Breaking Point
You see only what you want to see.
Maybe you always did.
—from “In an Unrelated,” Elaine Equi
Science & Environment
Our climate change debates are out of date: Solar and batteries are going to win, and our thinking needs to adjust accordingly, Noah Smith, Noahpinion, 9/7/23 (the most important chart in the world):
G20 Leaders Rebuked for Latest 'Incomprehensible Failure' on Climate Crisis: "Fossil fuels are killing us, and the G20's reckless failure to act will be measured in further lives and livelihoods lost," said one campaigner who noted the refusal by rich nations to pledge a phaseout of oil, coal, and gas, Jon Queally, Common Dreams, 9/9/23
Can We Talk to Whales? Researchers believe that artificial intelligence may allow us to speak to other species, Elizabeth Kolbert, New Yorker, 9/4/23: “If we could communicate with animals, ask them questions and receive answers—no matter how simple those questions and answers might turn out to be—the world might soon be moved enough to at least start the process of halting our runaway destruction of life.” (Roger Payne)
Perma-noon: On Light Pollution and the Way We Talk About the Natural World, Lauren Collee, LA Review of Books, 9/4/23: “One thing that distinguishes light pollution from other environmental crises is the fact that, unlike climate change or microplastics, it could be eliminated overnight.”
America Could Be in for a Rough Fall: The weather is about to get even weirder, Lois Parshley, The Atlantic, 9/6/23: “After this summer’s extremes, it’s daunting to be entering the height of an El Niño cycle.”
A Flesh-Eating Bacterium Is Creeping North as Oceans Warm: The Vibrio vulnificus pathogen thrives in hot coastal waters, and beachgoers can contract it via a small cut or scrape. It can also kill them in two days, Maryn McKenna, Wired, 9/6/23
Scientists warn invasive pests are taking a staggering toll on society: The authors of a major new U.N.-backed report say invasive species are costing the world more than $423 billion a year, Dino Grandoni, Washington Post, 9/4/23
As the Mississippi Swerves, Can We Let Nature Regain Control? After the lower Mississippi began pouring through and enlarging Neptune Pass in 2019, sediment began flowing into a sand-and-silt-starved Delta bay. Now the Army Corps of Engineers — breaking with tradition — is considering letting at least part of the river have its way, Andrew S. Lewis, Yale Environment 360, 9/5/23
Conservation gardening is a new—and surprisingly effective—way to stem loss of rare plants: A new study in Germany suggests conservation gardening could halve the number of plant species under threat in some parts of the country, Sarah DeWeerdt, Anthropocene, 9/5/23
‘Marvels of engineering’: The wind turbines that can float: This technology can generate clean energy while floating over the deep ocean, YCC Team, Yale Climate Connections, 9/6/23
What you need to know about solid-state batteries: Big companies and car manufacturers like Samsung and Toyota are betting big on solid-state batteries. Here's how they work and why we need them, Esteban Pardo, DW, 9/4/23: “Solid-state batteries have a higher energy density than standard lithium-ion counterparts, which means they can store more energy in the same volume.”
Zinc batteries that offer an alternative to lithium just got a big boost: The US Department of Energy just committed a $400 million loan to battery maker Eos, Casey Crownhart, MIT Technology Review, 9/6/23
Magnetism May Have Given Life Its Molecular Asymmetry: The preferred “handedness” of biomolecules could have emerged from biased interactions between electrons and magnetic surfaces, new research suggests, Yasemin Sapakoglu, Quanta, 9/6/23: “They suggest that magnetic surfaces on minerals in bodies of water on the primordial Earth, charged by the planet’s magnetic field, could have served as “chiral agents” that attracted some forms of molecules more than others, kicking off a process that amplified the chirality of biological molecules, from RNA precursors all the way to proteins and beyond.”
it is not the earth I will miss,
it is you I will miss.
—from “Crossroads,” Louise Gluck
Health & Wellness
What to know about this autumn’s covid vaccines: New variants will pose a challenge, but early signs suggest the shots will still boost antibody responses, Cassandra Willyard, MIT Technology Review, 9/8/23
A Medical Toolkit for Climate Resiliency Is Built on the Latest Epidemiology and ER Best Practices: Doctors at Harvard devised the treatment principles based on the belief that every person’s health is affected by climate change, Danish Bajwa, Inside Climate News, 9/5/23
… What a curious life
We have found here tonight
—from “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea,” Jeff Mangum
Birds
‘Weird’ dinosaur prompts rethink of bird evolution: The fossil is as old as the ‘first bird’, Archaeopteryx, and might have specialized in running or wading instead of flying, Jude Coleman, Nature, 9/6/23: “Even at their earliest stages, the closest fossil relatives of birds were diversifying in interesting ways.”
Peregrine Falcon Fiercely Defending Her Nest Wins Bird Photography Competition, Jessica Stewart, My Modern Met, 9/7/23: “For four years, I attempted to capture the rare sight of the female falcon attacking large brown pelicans with incredible speed and agility.”
We will have to do some heavy lifting in the next few years. I hope we are all ready. And now we are in the midst of our most important election cycle in a very long time, perhaps ever. I hope we’re ready for that too. Lots of news on many fronts. Send yours when you can.
Wishing you all much love and joy wherever and however you find it.—David
Stay right where you're standing
Take it all in
At least be a witness
See it to the end
—from “Don’t Be Alarmed,” Amanda Shires