ok this is right, i promise - the immaculate mailing list - a real issue *fixed*
apologies for the last one- two drafts got pasted together accidentally! actually it was three!!
hi all! welcome to the most recent and current brain dump. i appreciate you tuning in! here’s what i’ve been thinking about this week- as always, i’d love to hear your thoughts on any of it!
how do you (come to) know things??
okay, so along with my how-do-i-use-the-internet kick, i’ve also been thinking about my learning styles. this has been coming up because i spend a lot of time consuming information, but much of it doesn’t really stick with me as i move away. i forget a lot of details! it applies to more than just things i read too- if someone tells me about something, i’ll often come up with a general sense of what was said ie “this thing/person/place is bad”, but the details just don’t stick around. it’s often frustrating! i’ve gotten better over the last year or so about writing more things down, which has been really helpful! but i haven’t made it a practice to revisit my notes. maybe i could just stand to read a little bit less, and use more of that time for actually thinking about what i read? i think i’m frustrated at how useful writing is! i want the shortcut!!
how do you remember things? if you’re a note-taker, what do those look like? do you use those notes? do you have some sort of system? i would love to know how you all approach this!
global vaccine efforts
it’s pretty fucked up how skewed the distribution of vaccines is across the globe is- like most other resources, the wealthiest countries are hoarding a majority of the supply, utilizing their global power to purchase large amounts before less-wealthy countries have any opportunity to do so. not a surprise, but, ya know. still pretty bad.
panicking and soothing
i’ve dealt with panic attacks (fairly irregularly) for the last five years or so. typically, they’ve come on as i’ve gotten overwhelmed in social situations, but this past year has provided a fun, new twist. now, when i panic, it’s about mass death! i’ve found it much more challenging to come down from these, because the underlying causes are constantly present, and they’re getting worse. it often feels like i’m under-reacting, tbh. channeling my energies into trying to mitigate harm is useful overall, but it doesn’t do much for me in the immediacy. how do y’all navigate these? i know i am not a rarity in this.
what i’ve been reading
- nashville bombing spotlights vulnerable voice, data networks - tali arbel
- the christmas-day-nashville-suicide-bomber succeeded in knocking out a bunch of communications infrastructure- many folks were without cellular and internet service for a day. it’s bonkers how fragile these systems are! it seems like a pretty good idea to have a convo with your people about what you might do in those types of situation, ahead of time.
- how your digital trails wind up in the police’s hands - sidney fessel
- did you know that cops can subpoena google to see everyone who searched for a specific thing in a specific time frame? they can! are you going to a protest? or anything that might be construed as illegal? did you look up how to get there on google maps?
- can we restore nature? - liam henegham
- this is a thought-provoking piece drawing connections between the world of art restoration, and how humans might restore/mitigate the harm we’ve collectively (though massively disproportionately) done to the earth.
- what if friendship, not marriage, was at the center of life? - rhaina cohen
- honestly, i like this piece for knocking marriage off of its pedestal (i say as a very happily married person!!). in general, our society places more value on a marriage than any other kind of peer relationship, which i think is bunk! there are lots of types of relationships, and they can all be as healthy and nurturing as a relationship recognized by the state. i like the idea of marriage as a public commitment to another person, and as a great opportunity for celebrating love, but i definitely don’t think it’s necessary for a relationship to be legitimate, or a priority.
- permacomputing - viznut (sustainable and ethical computing)
- continuing with a theme i’ve been exploring recently, this piece just lays out the idea of “permacomputing”, i.e. a harmonious and sustainable relationship with the circuits and minerals that make up our electronics. it’s pretty far from the world we have now.
- wings of desire - dean kissick
- want to read about some gorgeous birds, and the aesthetics of beauty for beauty’s sake?? this is a good spot to do so :)
- god scent - sudeep agarwala
- a very fun to think about piece! if you can recreate on a molecular level, in a lab, the scent of an ancient tree- is it the same smell? is the original still as sacred if it can be mass produced?
- the modern world has finally become to complex for any of us to understand - tim maughan
- again, we can blame capitalism for making too many systems that are all far too complex for the human mind to comprehend. global manufacturing, shipping, and communications systems are way beyond the comprehension of our little pea brains, and because they’re so vast, there are that many more things that can go wrong! and no one fully understands how they all fit together, so it’s really tough to fix them when they break.
- the serviceberry - robin wall kimmerer
- fruit is a gift, and we should give it, and other things, freely. (please send me fruit!)
what i’ve been listening to
* troupeau bleu - cortex // riyl: stereolab, being in the pocket, funk bass * out of the blue - electric light orchestra // riyl: keys, harmonies, grooves * greatest hits - huey lewis and the news // riyl: american treasures, power pop, believing in love * being you is great, i wish i could be you more often - quelle chris // riyl: detroit, affirmations, roses * return to love - lvl up // riyl: power pop, rickenbackers, multiple songwriters in one band * naturally - three dog night // riyl: 70’s pop, bullfrog friends, joyous singalongs * dancing in the moonlight - king harvest // riyl: witchcraft, dancing, moonlight * suite for max brown - jeff parker // riyl: jazz, funk, sonic bliss * they sell doomsday - ryan power // riyl: end times, drum machines, jazz guitar solos * between the concrete and the clouds - kevin devine // riyl: pop hooks, clever lyrics, pleasing sounds * prince - prince // riyl: perfect albums, disco beats, sex symbols * poor boy - woody guthrie // riyl: wobblies, killing fascists, infidelity * dark matter - moses boyd // riyl: soul music, deep grooves, transitions from dark to funky * color theory - soccer mommy // riyl: singer/songwriters, 90’s alt pop, colors as symbols * heaven or las vegas - cocteau twins // linguistics, songs that end up on spotify radio stations, new wave * anak ko - jay som // riyl: nostalgia, dream pop, whirlwinds * cenizas - nicolas jaar // riyl: experimental, star gazing, jazz * songs - adrienne lenker // riyl: fingerpicking, the songwriting of big thief, composting * madvillainy - madvillain // iconic albums, comics, hip hop * music for eighteen musicians - steve reich // minimalism, electricity, large groups of people * reconstruction site - the weakerthans // riyl: hating winnipeg, imagining what your cat is saying to you, earnesty * sour cherry bell - mj guider // riyl: shoegaze, spacey, poppy * music for a french elevator and other oddities - the books // riyl: sound collages, french elevators, music for said elevators * from the unforgiving arms of god - end // riyl: heavy shit, rippers, hardcore * discography - (sandy) alex g. // riyl: lush harmonies, perfect songwriting, devoted lyricists * welcome interstate managers - fountains of wayne // riyl: harmonic sugar, early aughts pop rock, stacy’s mom,