Actual fern sex turned out to be much weirder.
The Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth, Zoë Schlanger
I'm a little less than halfway through this and really enjoying it! Another great one:
Through the chatter of their cells, plants are self-organizing systems.
This sentence is pretty perfect but also out of context sounds kind of horny in a 19th century lesbian love letter sort of way (this may or may not make it more perfect to some readers):
Pearlescent wetness clings to everything like spider's silk.
It’s like someone 3D printed the experience of email and put it in driving.
My partner describing roundabouts while navigating upstate New York
Second, I am invoking a loose physics metaphor because all knowledge-making is in some way an engagement with space, time, and energy.
"Your Artificial Future is Repulsive: On Climate Change, Data Tech, and Artifice", Theodora Dryer
I gave feedback on a very early draft of this a while back and it is cool to see it in the world. I appreciate how this text sprawls—ostensibly a "field review", it feels more like a hike through a weird thicket, or maybe a wander through the Zones of Roadside Picnic.
From its honeyed starch to its tangy tartar and savory fillet, the taste of the Filet-O-Fish carries an ineffable umami-ness.
"Why the Filet-O-Fish Is My Gold Standard for Fast Food", Jane Hu for the New York Times
Via Alexander Chee on Bluesky.
Early on, SLS designers made the catastrophic decision to reuse Shuttle hardware, which is like using Fabergé eggs to save money on an omelette.
"The Lunacy of Artemis", Maciej Cegłowski
Submitted by James. This was actually his runner-up selection, his main pick was:
The rocket can only launch once every two years at a cost of about four billion dollars — about twice what it would cost to light the rocket’s weight in dollar bills on fire.
Nothing was done, and nothing seemed capable of being done
Moby-Dick, Herman Melville
Via the Moby-Dick bot on Bluesky.