The Weird Times
Inner Monologues and Desultory Reporting from Outer Spaces: Issue 169, August 6, 2023 (V4 #13)
The inability to think logically is a form of bondage. The refusal to think logically is proof of already being bound.—Kareem Abdul-Jabar
Our original instructions are to listen to the cloud floating by and the wind blowing by. Everything is alive and has its own consciousness.—Lakota elder Tiokasin Ghosthorse
Books & Culture
The wild, the weird and the wonderful: the extraordinary show capturing Diane Arbus’s unsettling genius: From tipsy flappers to weary parents and circus performers, the great photographer captured life in all its raw beauty. Her biographer revels in the biggest show of Arbus work ever, combining rare, unseen and famous images, Arthur Lubow, The Guardian, 8/2/23
Earth cries! We are the gods that must step up to the biggest crisis in history: In a new poem, the writer and author calls for bold action in this era of wildfires, overheated oceans and shrinking biodiversity, Ben Okri, The Guardian, 8/5/23
No gods will get us out of this.
We are the gods that must do it.
Why Read John Milton? Ed Simon, The Millions, 8/3/23: “You should read John Milton because he will take your fucking head off. He was the prophet who could proclaim that “The mind is its own place, and in itself / Can make a heav’n of hell, a hell of heav’n.” Next to that, Milton needs no more justification, for Paradise Lost is enough.”
Hollywood’s Slo-Mo Self-Sabotage: Since the streaming era, movies and television feel less special, labor conditions have plummeted, and turbulent mergers and layoffs call into question which legendary institutions will still stand in another ten or twenty years, Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 7/30/23
The Gamification of Reading Is Changing How We Approach Books: Since its inception in 2007, Goodreads has been a place where people can come together and rate their favorite books, find new authors, and more. This writer juggles the greater implications of the site with our current reading culture, Greta Rainbow, Shondaland, 7/31/23
American Carnage: Jeffrey Toobin’s book about Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City bombing traces the path from Ronald Reagan’s antigovernment ideology to today’s radicalized right, Sean Wilentz, NY Review of Books, 8/17/23 issue
HISD to eliminate librarians, turn some libraries into discipline centers at 28 campuses, Ninfa Saavedra, Click2Houston, 7/28/23: “Houston Independent School District will be eliminating librarian positions at 28 schools this upcoming year and utilizing some of the libraries as ‘Team Centers” where kids with behavioral issues will be sent.”
The War on Libraries: Far-right state governments fear allowing children to think for themselves, Robert Kuttner, American Prospect, 7/31/23
‘Knowledge of self’: How a key phrase from Islam became a pillar of hip-hop, Su’ad Abdul Khabeer, The Conversation, 8/4/23: “Knowledge of self is an ethical pursuit to understand one’s place in and relationship to the world in order to positively change it.”
Why Is the World So Beautiful? Everything Is Alive, Rob Brezsny, Astrology Newsletter, 7/31/23: “I'm especially puzzled by the dogmatic materialism clung to by some environmentalists. They don't seem to understand that Indigenous peoples' loving relationship with the earth is inherently spiritual.”
The Bronx in August
You have awakened
my heart. Come Buddha
with me. The summer
hot as love. Stars
sip lemonade. Open
the fire hydrants.
—E. Ethelbert Miller
Politicks
Liberal Democracy In The ICU: The extinction-level event is here — and the indictment of Trump proves it, Andrew Sullivan, Weekly Dish, 8/4/23: “There is no rationality at work here; merely rationalization. But it is a rationalization powered by a tribalism so intense it now obliterates everything before it: truth, reality, civility, and every virtue, large and small, that keeps a liberal democracy intact. This is not a democratic debate or discussion anymore. It is not a fight within our existing system. It is the effective delegitimization of the entire system — because its procedures and norms cannot validate one deranged man’s sick psyche.” DW: This article is really good—try to make time to read it!
Is Sam Alito Barbieland’s Nightmare? When Barbie has more integrity than six Republican members of the US Supreme Court, you know American democracy is in a crisis…Thom Hartmann, Hartmann Report, 7/31/23: “Apparently, he never read the Constitution that he pretends to interpret and enforce.”
Constrain the Court—Without Crippling It: Critics of the Supreme Court think it has lost its claim to legitimacy. But proposals for reforming it must strike a balance with preserving its power and independence, which remain essential to our constitutional system, Laurence H. Tribe, NY Review of Books, 8/17/23 issue
Comparing "Morning in America" with 2023: Are we better off? Noah Smith, Noahpinion, 8/6/23: “On most counts, the economy of 2023 looks better than the economy of 1984 did.” DW: And yet, the overall mood in the country is negative about the economy. Want to take a guess at why that is?
If this is a bad economy, please tell me what a good economy would look like: We should acknowledge that things are going well, even as we continue to look for problems to solve, Noah Smith, Noahpinion, 7/31/23
Who Benefits from the Politics of Resentment? The grift economy of cancel culture, LYZ, Men Yell at Me, 8/2/23: “Claiming to be “canceled” is big business. This economy of the great white whine is capable of funding entire media outlets and universities, as well as presidential campaigns. Conservative culture isn’t winning, so much as it’s found a way to profit off of resentment-fed political and market forces.”
Doctors Emerge as Political Force in Battle Over Abortion Laws in Ohio and Elsewhere: Ohio is among at least five states where physicians have mobilized to protect reproductive rights. Here’s what doctors in the state are doing to protect abortion, Cassandra Jaramillo, ProPublica, 7/31/23
Meet the "scholars" who created Florida's new Black history curriculum, Judd Legum, Tesnim Zekeria, Rebecca Crosby, Popular Information, 8/1/23: “Some members of the work group were educators from Florida, but the body was reportedly dominated by Frances Presley Rice and William Allen [who] have a long history of highly inflammatory and partisan commentary, expressing views that are anathema to the vast majority of Black history scholars.
Tennessee lawmakers expelled by GOP win back state House seats, Andrew Jeeong, Washington Post, 8/3/23: “Both men’s platforms highlighted environmental risks to poor communities, gun control and expanding health care and living wages.”
All Politics Are Local; All Political Data Is National: In a divided America, what's average is rarely typical, Michael Podhorzer, Weekend Reading, 7/31/23 (Part 2 of series): “A foundational flaw with contemporary political analysis is the presumption that what is true generally in the United States is also true in whichever state or jurisdiction matters at the moment.”
Why American Fascists Label All Who Oppose Them as Communists: Is it to distract us from the actual Republican agenda, which bears a much closer resemblance to fascist states like Russia and Hungary than communism in Cuba? Thom Hartmann, Hartmann Report, 8/1/23
The Emerging Movement to Build Multi-Racial Power in Rural Communities: What the D.C. establishment gets wrong about rural politics, Michael Chameides, Danny Diaz, W. Mondale Robinson, Celina Culver, Barn Raiser, 8/1/23: “When we see rural people not voting for our issues or sitting out elections, that’s not a critique of rural people. It’s a critique of our tactics.”
Texas judge temporarily lifts abortion ban for complicated pregnancies, Niha Masih, Washington Post, 8/5/23
How To Overhaul Higher Education: A few modest proposals for fixing a broken system, William Deresiewicz, Persuasion, 7/31/23: “If college were free, a lot more kids who should go could go (more dumb rich kids go to college than smart poor ones). Students wouldn't have to take on debt. They could study what they want, which means that the liberal arts would flourish.”
Museum in New York state returns remains of 19 Native Americans to Oneida Indian Nation, Maysoon Khan, AP News, 8/2/23: “…we hope that it is a small step in the service of justice.”
The Taliban Burned a Pile of Musical Instruments Because They’re ‘Immoral,’ The Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice set fire to guitars, harmonicas, and speakers in the western province of Heart, Mohammed Rasool, Vice, 7/31/23
Israel's national security neoliberalism at breaking point? Adam Tooze, Chartbook, 8/6/23: “The bigger question surely is how far the right-wing course pursued by Israel alienates not just tech entrepreneurs but potential partners in the Abraham Accords.”
You tether me when my stress start burying me
You are the one to take care of me
I’m so gone, that conclusion foregone that confuse you
I'm weary of war zones, this tour long
I’m ready to go home, I’m ready for your bed—from “Risk,” Bas/FJK
Science & Environment
How a Microbial Evolutionary Accident Changed Earth’s Atmosphere: An extra membrane that once had digestive functions let marine microbes boost their yield from photosynthesis. Today, they’re responsible for locking carbon in the ocean and putting oxygen in the air, Saugat Bolokhe, Wired, 7/30/23
This whale may be the largest animal ever. We have no idea how it got that big: A newly discovered extinct whale called P. colossus is challenging the blue whale for the title of heaviest animal to ever exist, Dino Grandoni, Washington Post, 8/2/23
Just 1% of frozen pathogens released from Earth’s melting ice could wreak havoc on planet, study says: ‘The results tell us that the risk is no longer simply a fantasy,’ Vishwam Sankaran, Independent (UK), 7/31/23
Selfish, Virus-Like DNA Can Carry Genes Between Species: Genetic elements called Mavericks that have some viral features could be responsible for the large-scale smuggling of DNA between species, Saugat Bolokhe, Quanta, 8//3/23
One man and his drone: ‘My hope is to shut down the coal industry: How a citizen vigilante in West Virginia uses his drone to uncover polluters who would rather stay hidden, Oliver Milman, The Guardian, 7/31/23
Henrietta Lacks' descendants reach a settlement over the use of her 'stolen' cells, Joe Hernandez, NPR, 8/1/23
Electric trucks could reduce air pollution, improve health, EHN Staff, Environmental Health News, 8/1/23: “Exposure to diesel exhaust is linked to cardiovascular issues, cancer risk and even neurological impacts.”
Mass-Produced Clothing Causes Serious Air, Water Pollution Worldwide, Deborah Block, VOA News, 8/2/23
Back to the stone age: the sustainable building material we’ve all been waiting for…It’s strong, plentiful and fireproof, as well as beautiful, yet stone has long been supplanted in the building industry by energy-consuming steel, concrete and brick. A trio of advocates for this age-old material say it’s time for a rethink, Rowan Moore, The Guardian, 8/6/23
Could the world go PFAS-free? Proposal to ban ‘forever chemicals’ fuels debate: A European agency is considering sweeping restrictions on fluorinated chemicals used in jet engines, electric cars, refrigeration systems, semiconductors and many consumer products, XiaoZhi Lim, Nature, 8/1/23
Conservationists Push EPA to Add 1,000+ Pollutants to 'Outdated' List of Toxic Chemicals: "It's stupefying that the last time the EPA updated its toxic pollutant list, the 8-track was considered an advanced technology and Gerald Ford was president," Julia Conley, Common Dreams, 7/31/23
BPA's evil cousin: An ongoing series examining BADGE — an unregulated danger in epoxy resins, EHN Staff, Environmental Health News, 8/4/23
Don’t call it ‘toilet to tap’ — California plans to turn sewage into drinking water, Rachel Becker, CalMatters, 8/1/23: “Waste would undergo extensive treatment and testing before it’s piped directly to taps, providing a new, costly but renewable water supply.”
It’s not just hot. Climate anomalies are emerging around the globe: July was packed with weather anomalies, but some were so abnormal they sent a wave of consternation through the scientific community, Brady Dennis, Scott Dance, Washington Post, 7/31/23
This Scorching Summer Is Taking a Toll on Your Favorite Foods: A perfect storm of extreme weather and war have hit northern hemisphere crops like wheat, peaches, and olives. Welcome to the increasingly precarious future of food, Maryn McKenna, Wired, 8/4/23
We’re Gambling With the Only Good Oceans in the Universe: Earth’s precious water made life possible. Now it’s simmering, Marina Koren, Atlantic, 8/2/23: “ The surface temperatures of about 44 percent of Earth’s oceans are currently experiencing extreme heat.”
It’s Hurricane Showdown Season in the Atlantic: A hot and bothered Atlantic Ocean is butting up against a burgeoning El Niño in the Pacific. If the conditions are right, could El Niño stop hurricanes before they form? Matt Simon, Hakai, 8/4/23
Tribe fights to preserve California coastline — and its own culture, Silvia Foster-Frau, Washington Post, 7/29/23: “Their (Chumash Tribe) effort is part of a nationwide “land back” movement by Native Americans to reclaim sacred sites.”
This Northern Manhattan Wetland Has Faced Climate-Change-Induced Erosion and Sea Level Rise. A Living Shoreline Has Reimagined the Space: In the process to create a climate-resilient city, the shoreline restoration of one of the largest remaining wetlands in Manhattan has succeeded due to community engagement and consistent stewardship, Juanita Gordon, Inside Climate News, 8/3/23
‘Fruit of kings’: heatwave is a blessing for Arizona’s desert-loving date palms, The US south-west’s Medjool dates are descended from 11 plants brought from Morocco 100 years ago, Cecilia Nowell, The Guardian, 8/1/23: “Medjool dates are a healthy option any time of year thanks to their potassium, magnesium and fiber content in addition to the fact that they are low on the glycemic index.”
Discounting produce at the end of its shelf-life can cut food waste— and help fight climate change: The practice could help keep more perishable items out of landfills and reduce overall food waste, Joy Saha, Salon, 8/2/23
The Dream of Geothermal Energy Is Alive in Utah: A new drilling technology promises to unlock a wealth of energy—without a fossil fuel in sight, Will Knight, Wired, 8/3/23
Look at the crisis in the Amazon and understand the stakes: we’re battling for life itself, Mark Ruffalo, The Guardian, 8/6/23: “At this week’s Amazon summit, the world must stand with Indigenous peoples – and demand protection for the rainforest.”
It's my life, it's better left to chance
I could have missed the pain
But I'd have had to miss the (dance)
—from “The Dance,” Garth Brooks, written by Tony Arata
Health & Wellness
West Nile virus-carrying mosquitoes are getting harder to kill. Here’s how you can protect yourself: Scientists are reporting increasing insecticide resistance among American Culex mosquitoes that spread West Nile virus to humans, Keren Landman, Vox, 7/31/23
The World Is Not Prepared for Another Cholera Wave: Sanitation and vaccination can prevent cholera. But recent outbreaks highlight obstacles to stopping the disease, Pratik Prawar, Undark, 8/2/23
Scientists face impossible choice over preservation of priceless blue crab blood: Let vital medicines wither or an endangered bird, Patrick Whittle, Fortune, 7/31/23: “The harvest of horseshoe crabs, which are also caught for bait in the commercial fishing industry, has emerged as a critical issue for conservationists in recent years because of the creature’s role in coastal ecosystems.”
There, held in holy passion still,
Forget thyself to marble, till
With a sad leaden downward cast
Thou fix them on the earth as fast.—from “Number 9, Il Penseroso,” John Milton
Birds
Florida in Crisis: The state's biodiversity and human diversity are in peril, and attention must be paid, Laura Erickson, For the Birds, 7/29/23: “The Florida governor ridicules the people who care about the environment or other human beings as “woke” even as he drives his state directly toward the precipice, proud to be sound asleep at the wheel.
Birders flock to Green Bay to catch glimpse of Gulf Coast shorebird last seen in Wisconsin in 1845, Staff, Sentinel-Tribune, 8/3/23
Nightingales match the pitch of their rivals in singing duels: Male nightingales respond to each other’s songs by whistling back at the same pitch when competing for territory, and they even copy the pitch of artificial whistle sounds, Alakananda Dasgupta, New Scientist, 7/31/23
The words do not illuminate the poem;
the poem illuminates the words.
—St. John of the Cross, translated by Mary Oppen
What a week—the biggest news, of course, being the latest in what will be a well deserved string of indictments of the former guy (TFG). And there is so much else to cover, even my usual winnowing of article links isn’t sufficient. There is too much other important news too. Climate change is more visibly upon us than ever before.
Consequently, I’ve omitted most of the TFG coverage from this issue of TWT.
Later tonight, I will send out a special “political” supplement that I think will be worthy of your time. I hope you will read it. We are in an existential moment in American and human history, and we must stay engaged. There is too much to do.
Love to all, be well—David