The Weird Times
Inner Monologues and Desultory Reporting from Outer Spaces: Issue 137, December 25, 2022 (V3 #33)
And so, at this holiday time, I greet you,
With the prayer that for you, now and forever
The days break with peace,
and all shadows flee from your path.
—Fra Giovanni, from a salutation written to a friend in 1513
Love is anterior to life, posterior to death, initial of creation, and the exponent of breath.—Emily Dickinson
Politics and Business
What the criminal referral of Trump means – a constitutional law expert explains the Jan. 6 committee action, Margaret M. Russell, The Conversation, 12/19/22: “The House committee’s message of accountability – that if the nation is to consider itself to be a democracy that works there must be accountability for Trump and others – was made very powerfully.”
The Devastating New History of the January 6th Insurrection: The House report describes both a catastrophe and a way forward, David Remnick, The New Yorker, 12/22/22
How the Select Committee Wrote a Prosecution Memo for Trump’s Indictment, Stephen Rosenfeld, Pressenza, 12/23/22
Trump might look done, but we shouldn’t count him – or those he inspired – out, Moira Donegan, The Guardian, 12/20/22: “…the threat to the democratic order that he ushered in is still with us.”
Why the Jan. 6 Committee Let Ginni and Clarence Thomas Off the Hook: When you’re a justice, they let you do it, Dahlia Lithwick, Slate, 12/22/22
FTX's dirty money, Judd Legum, Rebecca Crosby, Popular Information, 12/15/22: “The charging documents filed by federal authorities allege that the tens of millions Bankman-Fried donated to political campaigns and committees over the last few years was a central component of Bankman-Fried's crimes and misconduct.”
Washington Needs a Crypto Rethink: The spectacular demise of Sam Bankman-Fried and his trading platform should change the debate about the regulation of digital assets, John Cassidy, The New Yorker, 12/20/22
How Neighbors in the Borderlands Fought Back Against Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey’s Illegal Wall—and Won: The Biden administration is doing nothing to stop the environmental destruction wrought by Arizona’s construction of a shipping container wall, Ryan Devereaux, The Intercept, 12/14/22
Could Democrats Really Elect a Moderate Republican Speaker? It’s a long shot, but not out of the question, Robert Kuttner, American Prospect, 12/23/22
The Twitter dumpster fire, explained, Judd Legum, Popular Information, 12/19/22: “I don't think Musk really understands the full extent of the unintended consequences of what he's doing.”
War on wokeness: the year the right rallied around a made-up menace: A modern-day blend of McCarthyism and white grievance became the focus of a rightwing crusade in 2022, Michael Harriot, The Guardian, 12/21/22
Tired, Filthy, and Overworked: Inside Amazon’s Holiday Rush: The retailer’s warehouses are flooded with packages. Workers say that means mandatory extra shifts and faster-paced work, Anna Kramer, Wired, 12/20/22
How female Iranian activists use powerful images to protest oppressive policies, Parichehr Kazemi, The Conversation, 12/21/22: “Images of Iranian women engaged in defiant acts make their daily oppression visible.”
All Charges Dismissed Against Nick Tilsen in 2.5 year long case: “My case held a mirror up to the so-called legal system, where prosecutors – fueled by white fragility and fear of Indigenous power – wasted years of state resources to intimidate, criminalize, and violate me. The fact that I’ve gone from facing 17 years in prison to all charges dismissed is not a coincidence or an act of justice – it’s evidence that the charges were bogus from the start,” NDN Collective, 12/13/22
Target Russia’s Capability, Not Its Intent, Nataliya Bugayova, Institute for the Study of War, 12/20/22: “The West should stop expending resources trying to change a reality it does not control and focus on what it can shape plenty: denying Russia’s ability to wage a war against Ukraine.”
The Intolerable Risks of Frozen Conflicts: And why America needs to help Ukraine win outright, Francisco Toro, Persuasion, 12/23/22: “…victory for Ukraine is no pipe dream.”
Lee Harvey Oswald, the CIA, and LSD: New Clues in Newly Declassified Documents: An unredacted memo adds depth to our understanding of the CIA’s response to allegations that Oswald worked with the spy agency, Ryan Grim, The Intercept, 12/19/22: “The CIA’s role in Kennedy’s assassination remains one of the great unsolved mysteries of American history.”
I am the eye in the sky
Looking at you
I can read your mind
I am the maker of rules
Dealing with fools
—from “Eye in the Sky”, Jonatha Brooke, written by Alan Parsons and Eric Woolfson
Books ‘n Culture
The Oldsmobile from 'A Christmas Story' Is Still Going Strong: The Old Man's 1937 Olds has had an extended afterlife, just like the movie itself, Brendan McAleer, Car & Driver, 12/18/22: "Some men are Baptists. Others Catholics. My father was an Oldsmobile man."
It's a good thing you're 21 only once: Spending Christmas 1968 in a dirty, snowy, brilliant New York City, Lucian K. Truscott IV, Newsletter, 12/24/22: “I was sitting on a pew in St. Mark’s just before the poets began reading when I detected the scent of patchouli and a whoosh of feathers and fur to my right as Jimi Hendrix and his girlfriend and a couple of other friends slid down the pew.”
‘The Velveteen Rabbit’ at 100: The story behind the classic Christmas tale: The author’s daughter, Pamela Bianco, a famous child artist, was a vital part of the book’s creation. What happened afterward is almost as bittersweet as the book itself, Michael Patrick Hearn, Washington Post, 12/23/22
The Mosquito Bowl: ‘Three hours of pure joy’ amid the horrors of war: A new book by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Buzz Bissinger brings to light a most unusual football game on the Pacific island of Guadalcanal during the second world war, Rich Tenorio, The Guardian, 12/20/22. Book: The Mosquito Bowl: A Game of Life and Death in World War II
“I Am Here to Mourn a Writer Who Has Become Part of My Personal Canon.” On the Short Stories of Naira Kuzmich, Aram Mrjoian, LitHub, 12/22/22: “Countless writers dream of packing trim sentences full of meaning, but few can successfully and consistently deliver.” Book: In Everything I See Your Hand
Blake, Science, Eternity, and Poetry, Adam Cornford, Chax Press, 12/3/22: “Most recently I have been learning that not only do other animals besides humans—crows, parrots, prairie dogs, bees, dolphins—use language and in some cases exhibit self-awareness, but that trees communicate through microrhizal fungal networks, and that the cells of our bodies are in constant, intricate chemical “conversation.” Book: Lalia
Journey Man, Jill Dion, Daily Nutmeg, 12/16/22: portrait of Allan Dias, former bass player for Public Image Ltd. from Stratford, CT, now a bicyclist and long distance runner at age 71.
Reading Ezra Pound in the Neofascist Age of Trump: Tom Rea Confronts Fascism, Past and Present, Tom Rea, LitHub, 12/20/22: “Fascism likes to appear to be on the march when in fact it’s on the creep—and harder to see. Our job is to make sure we don’t allow Pound’s great poetry to obscure our sight.”
Big Names in Little Magazines: On Thomas Pynchon’s Very First Literary Journal Appearance, Nick Ripatrazone, LitHub, 12/21/22: “The relative brevity of short stories renders them as flashes of life—carrying the same power as unfinished conversations, momentary glances, and old acquaintances.”
Ol’ Blue Eyes: Paul Newman’s posthumous memoir is a many-sided self-interrogation by a man who was a mystery to himself, Simon Callow, NY Review of Books, 12/22 Issue
Pussy Riot song protests against war in Ukraine and calls for Putin to be prosecuted: The collective said Mama, Don’t Watch TV – a reference to the words of a captured Russian conscript soldier – rails against the Russian leader’s ‘bloodthirsty puppets’ and ‘war criminals,’ Laura Snapes, The Guardian, 12/24/22
Notable Literary Deaths in 2022: An Incomplete List of the Writers, Editors, and Great Literary Minds We Lost This Year, Emily Temple, LitHub, 12/14/22. Spoiler alert: it’s a long list.
The Vacation Over
The vacation over, see from the train
who remains on the beach playing, bathing in the waves;
their vacation isn't over yet:
is this how it's going to be
is this how it's going to be
to leave this life?
—Jay Hopler (from Still Life)
Science and Environment
Holiday Traditions in the Forest Revive Spiritual Relationships with Nature, and Heal Planetary Wounds: Humans evolved strong spiritual connections to the natural world. New research shows exploring and nurturing them can help slow climate change and biodiversity loss, as well as improve our health, Bob Berwyn, Inside Climate News, 12/24/22
Physicists Rewrite a Quantum Rule That Clashes With Our Universe: The past and future are tightly linked in conventional quantum mechanics. A tweak could let quantum possibilities increase as space expands, Charlie Wood, Wired, 12/18/22
This Year, We Met People Rekindling Climate Hope With Perseverance and Innovation: From a ‘happiness farmer’ to dauntless vets, we look back at some of our favorite climate stories of 2022, Gemma Tarlach, Atlas Obscura, 12/20/22
Their Lives Were Ruined by Oil Pollution, and a Court Awarded Them $9.5 Billion. But Ecuadorians Have Yet to See a Penny From Chevron: One of the victims says “nobody listens to us” while the spotlight has shifted to his American lawyer, whom the oil giant has pursued in U.S. legal proceedings, Katie Surma, Inside Climate News, 12/18/22
London Underground polluted with metallic particles small enough to enter human bloodstream, Sarah Collins, University of Cambridge, 12/15/22
3M to stop making ‘forever chemicals,’ Deena Winter, Iowa Capital Dispatch, 12/20/22
We've Discovered A Subtle Genetic Imbalance That May Drive Aging, Carly Cassella, ScienceAlert, 12/17/22: “Looking at gene activity through this new lens will enable us to see biological phenomena differently."
Racers, mechanics, tinkerers converting classic cars to EVs, Thomas Peipert, AP News, 12/20/22
How Transportation Technologies Shape Cities: Part 3 of How to Understand Cities, Tomas Pueyo, Uncharted Territories, 12/18/22
Scientists claim first discovery of mammal eaten by dinosaur: Paleontologists say they have identified foot of mouse-sized mammal in fossilised rib cage of predatory microraptor, Harry Taylor, The Guardian, 12/20/22
New Blood Test Accurately Predicts Alzheimer's Years Ahead of First Symptoms, Carly Cassella, ScienceAlert, 12/22/22
The 19th-century engineer who was ahead of his time on wind power: James Blyth invented a windmill in 1887 that generated electricity to light his Scottish holiday cottage, Jeremy Plester, The Guardian, 12/22/22
A More Elegant Form of Gene Editing Progresses to Human Testing: Instead of cutting out chunks of the genome to disable malfunctioning genes, base editing makes a smaller, more precise swap, Emily Mullin, Wired, 12/23/22
‘Mind-blowing’ network of magma chambers found under Hawaii’s volcanoes: A new map of the island’s underworld provides a valuable window into the behavior of some of the most capricious, and hazardous, volcanoes on Earth, Robin George Andrews, Washington Post, 12/22/22
In a Famed Game Park Near the Foot of Mount Kilimanjaro, the Animals Are Giving Up: As a climate change-induced drought wears on, it’s putting more pressure on wildlife, livestock and people, with deadly consequences, Georgina Guston, Inside Climate News, 12/22/22
This little-known bottleneck is blocking clean energy for millions: Energy developers want to build a ton of wind and solar — they just can’t get it connected to the grid, Shannon Osaka, Washington Post, 12/20/22
The Coming of Light
Even this late it happens:
the coming of love, the coming of light.
You wake and the candles are lit as if by themselves,
stars gather, dreams pour into your pillows,
sending up warm bouquets of air.
Even this late the bones of the body shine
and tomorrow's dust flares into breath.
—Mark Strand
Birds
An Ode to Weird Duck Time: Cartoonist Rosemary Mosco reflects on a season that’s special to her—and not only because she invented it, Audubon, 11/29/22
10 smallest birds in the world: Birds vary enormously in size and shape. The ostrich can grow up to 9ft tall. But what about at the other end of the spectrum? Here are the world’s 10 very smallest birds, Leoma Williams, Discover Wildlife, 12/14/22
Feds Ramp Up Efforts To Save Hawaii’s Endangered Forest Birds In A Race Against Time: Wildlife officials hope a new strategy, in addition to other measures, will prevent the extinction of native bird species, Marcel Honore, Honolulu Civil Beat, 12/21/22
Christmas Island red-tailed tropicbird under threat by feral cats and climate change, Peter de Kruiff, ABC News (Australia), 12/21/22
Congress Passes Audubon-backed Bill to Assess and Monitor Saltwater Lake Ecosystems in the West: To better protect people and birds, Audubon science makes the case for the U.S. government’s first coordinated regional assessment of Great Basin saline lakes, National Audubon Society, Audubon, 12/20/22 Caption: American White Pelican.
Christmas Story: A tale of faith in human dignity restored, Joseph Mitchell, The New Yorker, 12/16/1938. This is a great story, too good to try to excerpt. Read it!
put up your little arms
and i’ll give them all to you to hold.
every finger shall have its ring
and there won’t be a single place dark or unhappy
—from “little tree” by e.e. cummings
Best charities to assist migrants and immigrants in the USA. Much needed now.
Most of us are in places that are very cold today. I hope that wherever you are and whomever you are with, you are warm, safe, and with the people you love most. Warmest wishes to all, and as always, love from here. Keep in touch—David