February 15, 2021

the immaculate mailing list - happy belated valentines day

hi y’all

hope you are staying warm, and making sure others in your communities are too! i personally love this kind of weather, but we don’t have the necessary institutionalized social supports in place for everyone to survive it, so we’ve gotta keep each other safe ourselves! there’s almost certainly efforts in your area to get folks into shelter who otherwise wouldn’t have it- i encourage ya to find those efforts and support them! if you want to financially help here in chicago, you can donate here to help unhoused people ride out this deadly weather in a hotel room.

some things i’ve been reading recently!

before I get in to the normal article drop, i wanna mention a couple of books i’m in the middle of and would like to talk to people about!

• nine-tenths of the law: property and resistance in the united states - hannah dobbz

  • an overview on the history of private property in the united states, from the original theft from and genocide of indigenous peoples through the modern day housing crisis. i’ve been learning about squatting as resistance, but also as survival when there aren’t any options left. it’s nice to fill in some gaps in my understanding of how this all has worked. if you’re in chicago, lmk if you wanna borrow it when i’m through!

• the progressive plantation: racism inside white radical social change groups - lorenzo kom’boa ervin

  • i picked this up after seeing it recommended to folks who were involved in “progressive” groups that are super white, with histories of misogyny and racism. i’m not super far into it yet, but the critique that often white people are not willing to address racism and misogyny with the speed and efficiency that it requires rings true for my experience in these spaces, and my own complicity. i would like to read and talk about this with other white people. the whole text is available at the link!

• turn this world inside out: the emergence of nurturance culture - nora samaran

  • some of you have certainly read this author’s essay the opposite of rape culture is nurturance culture. i’ve revisited it a few times since it was published five years ago, and i’ve found it resonating at different levels each time. this book is an extension of that essay (it’s the opening piece), including critiques of the original, as well as drawing new connections. i would love to read and talk about this with other men in my life. the essay is a great starting point!

okay, here are some articles :)

• line cooks have the highest risk of dying during pandemic, plus other riskiest jobs: study - cory stieg

  • again, please don’t go out to eat.

• bruce boyer on finding your wardrobe and sustainability in fashion - derek guy

  • as i wrap up my final semester, i am faced with the idea that soon i will have to dress professionally in order to pay my bills. gone will be the days that slim fitting black jeans, vans, and a flannel can cover 80-90% of my activities. i’m not resistant to opening up my wardrobe, i just have to figure out how to tick all of the boxes for Professional Mens Clothing (the field of interpreting is super conservative when it comes to what guys wear on the job) while still feeling comfortable. i’m also trying to find stuff that will last a long time, without falling apart (in a way that can’t be repaired) or going out of style! i realize people have done this before, it’s just a little new to me. if you are a stylish person, please reach out to help me!!!

• a brief history of the emo twinkle - ellie

  • as someone who used to be active in this scene, i felt obligated to read! and i enjoyed! regardless of the topic, i will always be fascinated by histories like this- seeing how things started, when new directions were taken, when people finally stopped singing like that, etc. a pleasant and informative read, if you’re into that kind of thing.

• newly discovered “nano-chameleon is world’s smallest known reptile - michael irving

  • omg it’s so small!!!

• a ‘uniquely american whale’: new species discovered off southern US coast

  • new whale just dropped

• making vaccine - john wentworth

  • some people are diy-ing a covid vaccine! related: plans for building your own epi-pen.

• the gallaudet syndrome II: on profiting from deafness

  • this is spefically about deafness, but the point it makes is that many people profit off of disabilities, except the people who have disabilities.

• the body is far from helpless against coronavirus variants - katherine j. wu

  • this was a mildly reassuring read, though not an all out alleviating-my-worries one. it makes the case that our immune systems, if they have any immunity to the virus, through being sick already or getting a vaccine, are pretty well set up to fight against a new variant. so, cool. still very much a concern that these new variants are going to spread in folks who do not have any sort of immunity, who haven’t caught the virus yet, and can’t get a vaccine due to limited resources or their own choices.

• why opening restaraunts is exactly what the coronavirus wants us to do - caroline chen

  • see above ^^. we are not yet at a point where it can be considered safe to open up, and these politicians who are making the choice to do so should be held responsible for any of the resulting deaths and suffering.

• the mushrooms will survive us - zoë schlanger

  • mushrooms are so cool. have any of y’all read that book, the hidden lives of trees? about how the mycelium connects forests together, and enables them to support each other and survive? mushrooms are so cool, y’all.

• an ever-moving, unloved fish is stirring chaos in the north atlantic

  • i’m not much for drama, but i do love to read about fish. mackerel are expanding their territory, and the international discussions on fishing them sustainably are not really going well, leading to massive overfishing. yikes!!!

• survival of the richest - douglass rushkoff

  • this is a few years old, but is as bleak and relevant as ever. people with resources are already building protective infrastructure for themselves so they will not bare the brunt of the consequeneces of their actions.

what i’ve been listening to

• because of a flower - ana roxanne
• in seven days // narcarrow studies nos. 6 & 7 - thomas ades
• complete discography - moss icon
• collapsed in sunbeams - arlo park
• expressions - mariya takeuchi
• today’s active lifestyles - polvo
• i am - earth, wind, & fire
• rejoice! - the emotions
• will you still love me tomorrow? - the shirelles
• little creatures - talking heads
• s/t - kelly lee owens
• inner song - kelly lee owens
• the mosaic of transformation - kaitlyn aurelia smith
• sha sha - ben kweller
• put your ghost to rest - kevin devine
• kyoto - art blakely & the jazz messengers
• slow traffic to the right - bernie maupin
• the jewel in the lotus - bernie maupin
• said & done - jeff pianki
• smiley smile - the beach boys
• cereal milk - cereal milk

solicitations

please, if any of those books i mentioned appeal to you, lmk! i’d be very happy to discuss them with ya. also, if you want to be a wardrobe consultant for me, you’ve got my email address!!

thanks y’all

stay safe

xoxo josh