Mid-summer tiny letter - now with subject line!
Friends - sorry for the duplicate, I messed up the subject line.
“This time, for sure!”
- Rocky & Bullwinkle
Three-fer
One summer day, I had three noteworthy experiences.
1) I rode a mechanical bull. I was told the setting was ‘medium’. No stirrups, no handholds besides the single rope in the middle. I’ve long wanted to try this. The lack of bro country playing in the background was a huge plus, though the “ride” operator was skirting Portland rules by failing to play The Decemberists or Sleator-Kinney during my brief spin.
2) I found a free watermelon by the side of the road. It wasn’t the sweetest, but on the other hand, consider the odds...
3) I got to see my friend Julia, it had been a while. Her sense of humor has only improved!
Good news on HIV prevention
Researchers and activists in the trenches of the long fight against H.I.V. got a rare piece of exciting news this week: Results from a large clinical trial in Africa showed that a twice-yearly injection of a new antiviral drug gave young women total protection from the virus.
It’s the trolleys!
When I moved here, I mistakenly assumed that the urban design and layout was the result of some intentional planning (after automobiles took over) to keep the city compact and walkable. It turns out I was mistaken. A key driver of all these great neighborhoods was the trolley system going back ~100 years! City Nerd is a brilliant chronicler of many matters urban. This is a masterful video. City Nerd’s tone is a bit flat, but the content here is gold. Check his channel - he might have a video on your favorite city, or one you want to visit.
Tech doesn’t make our lives easier
Breaking through the illusion of convenience that's used to sell us automation.
Tech doesn’t make our lives easier. It makes them faster
Breaking through the illusion of convenience that's used to sell us automation
What pop music could be
Music nerds have been buzzing about this unusual, sophisticated, but totally accessible pop song by artist Willow. I’ll take this over the secondhand dreck they play in my dentist’s office any day.
How accents work, briefly examined
I’ve long been fascinated by accents of all kinds, and dreamed of something like an accent bootcamp, where you choose a few study tracks, and leave the weekend with a solid British, Columbian, and Cantonese-inflected English. Language Jones’ channel is full of great material, including this remarkably concise video, which breaks down key elements of accents. To give one short example, New Zealanders will reverse the “kit” and “dress” vowel sounds. Roughly:
American: I bought a tool kit.
New Zealander: I bought a tool ket.
American: Say yes to the dress.
New Zealander: Say yiss to the driss.
Read the sentences out loud for a better sense of the differences.
Modern pop, via @Paul
The band Speak has disappeared, it seems, but I’ll soon be exploring their 2014 album “Pedals”. What does it sound like? You tell me.
Watching: Dark Matter
I’ve just enjoyed Dark Matter, a sci-fi series based on a novel by Blake Crouch. I loved Wayward Pines, another series based on his work, and read most of Recursion while stuck in Denver airport.
Dark Matter is a clever story based on the many worlds (or infinite worlds) theory, the idea that there are universes parallel to our own, each one based on minutely different choices we make. The show is well plotted, keeps you guessing (which I love) and raises deep metaphysical and ethical questions. While it is sci-fi, it’s really a work about relationships, life choices, and the road(s) not traveled.
It’s a complete one season show, ready for bingeing.
Reading: Oriana
I’m halfway through this book, and loving it. Oriana Fallaci was a headstrong, groundbreaking, wildly successful journalist who survived WWII, reported from war zones and extreme situations, and fell in love with a Greek man 10 years her junior (not a big deal today, but hey, Italy in the 1970s was not a bastion of gender fairness). This novelization of her life is told in rich language and deep affection for the subject.
Oriana: A Novel of Oriana Fallaci - Historical Novel Society
Oriana is an exuberant novel about an exuberant woman, the famous Italian interviewer of the Seventies, Oriana Fallaci. Fallaci was born in Florence under Mussolini’s regime and was raised by fiercely brave partisan parents who expected her to do something with her life, including assisting them in their efforts to fight against the Fascists and […]
Closing quote
In the battle between reality and fundamentalism of all varieties, reality always wins – if it is given the freedom to breathe and we show the courage necessary to accept it. Even then it takes time. But when a truth has been suppressed by a massive lie for centuries, its eventual emergence is almost a miracle.
- Andrew Sullivan