Edie is an unmoored, emotionally complex, Black NYC 20-something with a propensity for affairs. When she meets Eric, a settled, white suburban dad in an open marriage, she weaves her way into his orbit, and his home, via his wife. Some novels are great on plot, some on the emotional lives of the characters, and some on tiny bits of insight that encapsulates so much in a few sentences. To me, Luster, Raven Leilani’s first novel, is best on the second two. The book is about many things—knowing oneself; navigating racial conflict, or at least discomfort, in places where few people look like you; rich imagination as a sort of burden.
To decompress from the stress of ever present screen time and pandemic fatigue, I read most of this book zoned out in the bathtub. Yes, I have bathtub privilege. Some books I tend to rush through, skipping over plot details to relish keen reflections captured in just a few sentences. Protagonist Edie takes the adopted Black daughter of her lover to a tae kwon do class in whitest New Jersey.
There are co-instructors wandering around, and for the most part they are cheerful and nondescript, but one of them is black and when I catch his eye, he pauses in the middle of his form and smiles. Like most hyper-symmetrical black men, his smile is a disarming show of contrast and, in this case, anchored by an obscene pair of dimples. I smile back at him and think bitterly about my abstinence. His eyes are bright and kind, and so of course I picture our children, our rent, and our amicable divorce in the time it takes him to move along as the students run around the mat in bare feet, count through axe and crescent kicks and land like blows on each other as the master grants his approval of the more crisp performers and attends to the stereo, which, underneath the agony of the class, is playing the soundtrack from The Matrix Reloaded.
A novel that is ALL ABOUT RACE ALL OF THE TIME would be exhausting, and probably not a very engaging read. By contrast, one that doesn't consider the role race plays in its characters would feel like it's lacking something important. Luster finds the sweet spot, allowing its characters all the complexity and contradiction that humans carry, while reflecting on the role race plays in their lives.
OMG OUTDATED HIP HOP SLANG, BEN!
Raise the roof for vaccination
I got my first vaccine shot in Milwaukee, at a large convention center repurposed for mass vaccinations. I booked online, which went pretty smoothly, and immediately received a confirmation text. I drove to the venue, parking was free, walked in and was happy to see a clearly communicated, streamlined process. Lots of relatively chipper staff, from folks just handing out clipboards, to medical professionals giving injections. The 20 minute wait following the injection took place in a large auditorium where they had set a TV playing 1980s music videos. I know we've all heard it 1,000 times, but I'm perfectly content to watch the tail end of Hungry like the wolf as I wait for the nanites to start commandeering my blood cells and calling the mothership. I heard George Clinton has been working with the Gates Foundation for years now.
The person who did my injection said she was a FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) volunteer. Ronald Reagan said that the scariest words in the English language are, “I'm from the government and I'm here to help.” What a terrible concept. We need to flip that on its head. I'm well aware that not all vaccination operations run as smoothly as this one. But there's great benefit in championing our successes in disaster relief and public health, and these vaccination sites are both.
I think they ought to have a rotation of masked, socially distanced rappers freestyling outside these sites.
Orange nightmare maybe made you think we no longer competent but yo, this ain't his failed experiment We got the RNs, the MDs, handful of EMTs standing by in case you cry 20 minute wait before you fly Here some copies of JAMA*, while you take your vax home, take this stack home School those Fox fools and tell 'em we got the tools to pool all this data makes us greater, FEMA saving lives on the regular, a one two, a one two
* Journal of the American Medical Association. Yes, all raps should come with footnotes.
This week in irreverence
I don't know much about Omega Mart, I think it's in Las Vegas, some kind of bizarre art installation. But I love the irreverence and playfulness of these commercials. I am drawn to visit. In the spirit of Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job and Too Many Cooks.
20 minute neighbourhoods
Here's a great idea from two Australian professors. As I bike around the city, or talk to friends about renting or purchasing property here, my first thought when I envision their prospective house, condo, or apartment is, what can I do that is nearby? Coffee shop, library, grocery store, fitness options, parks? Having these within a 20 minute walk or 10 minute bike ride is incredibly valuable. I'm quite fortunate to live in a neighborhood that qualifies. And I regularly scratch my head wondering why anyone who can afford it would purposely live in one that doesn't. I'm like a See & Say toy—mention a car-dependent suburb, and I will just start talking about how much I think it sucks.
We were heavily involved in the consultation program for Melbourne’s long-term land-use plan, Plan Melbourne. The idea that resonated most with many participants was shaping the city as a series of 20-minute neighbourhoods.
People generally loved the thought that most (not all) of the things needed for a good life could be within a 20-minute public transport trip, bike ride or walk from home. These are things such as shopping, business services, education, community facilities, recreational and sporting resources, and some jobs (but probably not brain surgery).
I was talking recently with some friends about a series of classes they took on racial justice. In one of them, a more complete history of the United States cover how, in order to justify racist laws, bogus science was used, for example, the long discredited “science" of phrenology, which claims that differences in anatomy between different racial groups account for a supposed inferiority of some of them. So now you have laws supposedly based in the findings of experts. But in fact, the reasoning for these laws works in reverse.
This led me to a simple theory: that confirmation bias explains everything. Well, not everything, but if you look at something corrupt, unjust, or mired in outdated tradition/reasoning, there's a good chance confirmation bias is at the root. What do I mean by this? Whether consciously or unconsciously, you start with the thing you want, and then you work backwards to justify it.
Want white men to retain their power and control everything? Find "science" to say that women and black people are inferior.
Want to prevent specific people groups from realizing full agency, finding their artistic, gender, or psychological/emotional expression? Paint their desires or activities as sinful or unnatural, make them the outgroup.
I'm sure you can think of many more examples. If you've ever listened to a political opponent, whether a politician or just someone in your family, make what sounds like a strong argument for something, you can interrogate that argument by considering whether they are reasoning backwards, that is, starting with what they want, and then molding or torturing history facts or opinions to support it.
Now, I pick on right wing folks and conservatives mostly, because they are the ones with power inversely proportional to the value and appeal of their actual ideas. But folks on the other side are not immune to this type of reasoning either.
In Derek Sivers' excellent book Anything you want, he tells the story of building a fun, nimble CD distribution company, but not wanting to deal with pesky issues like benefits. He wasn't opposed to offering them, he just didn't want to deal with planning and paperwork. One of his employees approached him and said hey, we want a profit-sharing plan. He replied, okay, come up with something. And he left his business, in large part, to his employees to run and reshape.
Six months later, his accountant calls and says, “Did you know that your employees set up a profit-sharing program?” Sivers says “yeah, why?” The accountant replies, “Did you know that they’re giving all of the profits of the company back to themselves?” Sivers canceled the program, and in weekly company meetings, the general message from the employees was,
“We need to get Derek out of here so he stopped telling us what to do. We don't need to answer to him! He needs to answer to us!”
Sivers realized that someone needed to manage the business, that it couldn't just be left to the employees, hoping everything would work out. Despite his company CD Baby being a great place to work, the employees still framed Derek as “The Man” in order to hoover up all of the profits from the company he founded.
The political possibility of cities
This is a short, meandering piece on the power of cities to help create a sustainable future. The key quote:
America has 50 governors, 435 Congressional districts, 100 senators and 9 Supreme Court justices.
America has 19,000 cities and towns and 3,100 counties. These local governments are far more accountable to the people than the larger political entities. Officials in cities, towns and counties who deliver tangible improvements to their residents' quality of life will be rewarded with high approval ratings and re-election. The Tr*mp years left the largest of these starved for friendly federal coordination and partnership.
It's a different take on political progress than I've seen elsewhere, and I think it is well reasoned.
Hey Ben, could you comment on yet another article showing how horrible Facebook is?
Asked and answered. I'll keep it short. Generally speaking, we cannot count on companies like Facebook to do the right thing, at least not consistently, and not when it conflicts with their business model. I'm not sure most people understand this point. I'm not saying they are dumb, just that they have not stopped to consider the purpose of Facebook and much other social media. It's not about connecting people, or making the world a better place. It's about generating profit.
An inspiring video on cutting-edge efforts to improve battery life. We are moving into a battery-driven future. Cars, homes, factories. One of the ultimate wins is to generate electricity sustainably, via solar panels for example, then move that electricity into batteries that power our lives. These processes are not without environmental impacts, because some of the pieces involved require precious metals and possibly dirty manufacturing techniques. Still, I can't wait to retire my coal-powered snowblower. I really appreciate the quality, clarity, and storytelling of this video. No jump-cuts, no hype, just a thoughtful explanation of how batteries work, and what these companies are doing to advance the technology.
ARTIST RECOMMENDATION
José González, mellow mode
Sweet, mellow, calming. Such is José González’ music. Mostly just acoustic guitar + voice, in Spanish and English. I don't have a specific album recommendation, but whatever you choose, you probably won't go wrong. If you are one of these youngsters who prefers streaming everything, use Bandcamp, as they treat their artists better than any other platform I know.
Post-quarantine desires, 5
More hugs
Not dodging strangers when we pass on the sidewalk
Hosting dinner parties
Wrasslin’ with kids. They can and will snot all over you.
Unplanned interactions These serendipitous encounters are a great part of what makes life enjoyable. The simple act of running into someone and connecting with them, perhaps for just a moment, or perhaps making a friend for lifetime. It will be much easier to do when we are not wary of each other, and not covering the bottom half of our faces.
Yours?
Disagree with everything I wrote? Prefer to keep your coal-powered snowblower? Let me know.
Share this post with all your friends, and I promise never to say the word infl**ncer! Bwarrrrf…
