the immaculate mailing list - episode #13
welcome to the immaculate mailing list
happy to have ya around
wow, the days sure do keep happening, don't they? seems like we just collectively had a day yesterday, but here we are having another one. absolutely bananas what management gets away with, we need a union. anyways, today's dispatch comes from a couch looking out into grand traverse bay. not a bad view, huh? it's raining and thundering currently, but it's still a #sickvista. kat and i have spent the last few days bopping around and seeing some of our peoples in the mitten (which, as silly as i think states are, still has my favorite state motto- "if you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you"), while also trying to catch a day's rest. it's a delicate balance, yeah? always decisions, decisions, decisions to make. i am glad to have the opportunity to make those decisions, though. much better to have two enjoyable options than none.
what am i doing with my degree
a week from today, i start my first paid gig as an american sign language-english interpreter! feels a little scary, also pretty exciting. just once a week, i'll be in a baking program at a community college- something i have had lots of incidental learning opportunities around already, so i feel prepared to work with the subject matter! li'm looking forward to gradually transitioning away from coffee jobs for a while, though i definitely do not rule out working them again. i like working with coffee, and i like being in a neighborhood hub and getting to know people who live around me. it does feel strange to leave behind a job i've grown comfortable in for something new (and to start living in a freelance world!). what a bunch of new things to have to figure out!! but, yeah, pretty cool.
literary ish
just a few days ago, i finished reading ursala k. le guin's the dispossessed. my first actual introduction to her work, aside from the prologic short story, the day before the revolution. it certainly will not be the last though! i really enjoy works that imagine an anarchist model of living- they provide a great base for thinking about the world that i would like to live in, and the challenges that it might pose.
i've been reading robin wall kimmerer's gathering moss, a book written sometime before her much-lauded work, braiding sweetgrass. i'm still early on in it, but i love the way she weaves everyday life into botanical writing- after all, plants are part of daily life (for some of us more than others). i don't think i've ever not had my perspective shifted after reading her work. here is a bonus essay she wrote, that i regularly push onto friends and family.
some other essays that i've read in the last few months that y'all might enjoy!
all descriptions taken from the article
time to death - eve zelickson - algorithms can now predict mortality with startling accuracy, threatening a new form of digital redlining.
mothers of invention - jessica friedmann - these two scientists could transform how we feed our babies.
the asl interpretation of ‘WAP’ was tiktok gold. it’s also a problem. - amber p. kambhampaty - a lively american sign language interpretation of megan thee stallion’s performance at lollapalooza flooded social media, reigniting the frustrations of black deaf content creators.
unboxing the toolkit - shannon mattern - what do flower gardens, chests of drawers, chocolate cakes, and global development projects have in common? they all might find their origin in a toolkit! given the proliferation of kits across industry sectors and everyday experiences, we’d do well to consider what the toolkit does, who it serves and how, and what it says about us.
why does utopian architecture suck? - kate wagner - our plans to rethink the built environment keep going awry.
the silences between: on the perils and pitfalls of translation - mark polizzotti - from literature to films and advertising, when it comes to translation, the opportunities for misinterpretation are rife.
a battle between a great city and a great lake - dan egan - the climate crisis haunts Chicago’s future
my country isn't a nation - bret devereaux - what is a nation and why isn’t the United States one?
salad will survive climate change. but at what cost? - eve andrews - we made eating greens more convenient. can we make it more democratic?
vin diesel, arthur russell, and me - gary lucas - mixmaster arthur russell meets wannabe rapper mark sinclair (aka vin diesel). what could possibly go wrong? that’s what gary lucas thought when he brought these two talents together in a recording studio. at the time, lucas was an a&r scout at columbia records as well as running his own logarhythm label on the side. he and partner geoff travis of rough trade (uk) thought it would be a good idea to bring these two together, to tap into the burgeoning rap market. yo! no! gary lucas tells the tale here for pkm
the selling of 'the miseducation of lauryn hill' - thembisa mshaka - it takes a dream team of creatives to put together an album like the miseducation of lauryn hill. this is the story of the creatives who helped bring Lauryn’s classic to life.
not sharing any music this episode!
... but if you're reading this, i would love for you to respond to this with something new-to-you that you've heard in the last few weeks!