OMM – August 2024 – #2
~ a curated selection of discoveries ~
::: The Open :::
Dear Reader,
I hope you enjoy this weekly newsletter (published on Sundays).
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Thank you for reading and for your time.
With Gratitude,
~ Mark
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Please Note:
This newsletter is typically too long to appear in its entirety in an email. Please click through to Substack to read in full.
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::: Personal Notes :::
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I’ve been experiencing what is probably quite a bit of “tech neck”. Good times.
Points to those who have worked to maintain good posture.
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The Paris Olympics has really had a lot of stunning moments. Been enjoying watching highlights on YouTube.
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In a telling moment… I misread the title of this article about a Gallop poll…
Here’s what I thought I read: “Far Fewer in U.S. Regard Childhood Vacations as Important”
Regarding vaccinations… We live in a society. It’s your personal obligation to help protect others. As Tim Walz pointed out in his Philadelphia speech, Donald Trump is a self-serving person and has projected this as an acceptable way for Americans to move through the world. It’s not. We live and die together. A completely divided nation will not stand for long.
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::: ONE ART :::
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26 Literary Journals with Fast Response Times (Authors Publish)
This list includes ONE ART.
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Short & Sweet: Writing the Short Poem
Instructor: Donna Hilbert
Date: Thursday, August 22, 2024
Time: 5:00-7:00pm (Pacific)
Price: $25 (payment options)
Contact Mark Danowsky directly @ oneartpoetry@gmail.com if you wish to attend.
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Official announcement coming soon…
Screw the Rules—Let’s Just Write
Instructor: Kari Gunter-Seymour
Date: September 17, 2024
Time: 6:00-8:00pm (Eastern)
Price: $25 (payment options)
More registration info forthcoming. Contact Mark Danowsky directly @ oneartpoetry@gmail.com if you wish to attend.
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::: Podcasts :::
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‘Why Orwell Matters’
This recent episode of The Gray Area with Sean Illing is a good listen.
Towards the end of the episode, Sean finally addresses Orwell vs. Huxley (and Neil Postman’s assessment in Amusing Ourselves to Death).
A notable point is made that Orwell seems to have done a good job analyzing the 20th century whereas Huxley may have better diagnosed the dystopian features of the 21st century.
The episode’s guest spends a considerable amount of time noting Orwell did have an unfortunate blind spot when it comes to the feminist movement and women’s issues, in general, in the 1930s.
A nice outshot suggestion to read Orwell’s famous essay ‘Politics and the English Language’ which I really can’t recommend enough.
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::: Music :::
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75% of artists spend under a year on the Billboard Top 40.
Another 11.5% manage 1-3 years.
“Two years ago, Elton John's 2022 hit "Cold Heart" reached #7 on the Hot 100, fifty years after his first charting song, "Rocket Man," peaked at #20—marking the longest timespan between an artist's first and last Top 40 hit.” (Stat Significant)
“Artists like Elton John, Cher, Santana, and Bruce Springsteen are among the elite 1% of music stars who have maintained cultural recognition for over two decades. These careers are exceptional mega-outliers, as music celebrity is typically confined to one hit album or single.”
“Pete Townshend of The Who once remarked that "Rock 'n' roll is a young man's game"—a sentiment that broadly applies to all Top 40 music. […] When we examine artists' ages at the time of their first Top 40 hit, we find that most musicians achieve this milestone before turning 30.”
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::: The Literary Community & Beyond :::
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Have you heard about TELEPHONE?
It’s an art project that has become something of a phenomenon. To the extent that two poets messaged me the same day encouraging me to participate.
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On the stack with Becky Tuch / LitMagNews
Should editors be more transparent about their editorial processes?
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“Or maybe I’m the old racoon slipping / down, unseen, behind the rusted sewer / grate at the curb.” (The Poet Struggles with the Lyric I, Susan Barry-Schultz, Rust & Moth)
Yeah, I’m a sucker for a good racoon reference. So is Ben at Chill Subs. So… it’s not just me.
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A reminder—
Ben’s FREE course ‘Sorry For The Inconvenience: A Submitter's Guide To Lit Mags’ via Chill Subs / Write or Die project ‘The Forever Workshop’.
Highly recommend. Plus, you can enjoy Ben taking some lighthearted jabs at me.
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Nod to Bracha K. Sharp for sharing this excellent poem with me from the Five Points archive.
‘Song’ by Melanie Rae Thon
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‘The Academy of American Poets Awards $1.1 Million to Twenty-Two Poets Laureate’ (Poets.org)
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ICYMI – new Banksy with animal themes
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‘Mystery Paris street artist ‘Invader’ glues up new work to celebrate Olympics and delight fans’ (AP)
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“Buying a big publishing company like Simon and Schuster wasn’t the smart way for a giant publishing company like Penguin to succeed. They’d be better off dividing into agile silos that can focus on the work that needs to be done.” (Seth Godin)
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Ted Gioia making observations about “the avant garde” (sorta) and then derailing into rants about “selling out” with a some 90s nostalgia flair. He does acknowledge, “Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe I’m caught up in the ideals of the past.” Actually, yeah, that’s what it sounds like.
“I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the avant-garde started getting weaker during the same period when artists began flaunting corporate affiliations and branding deals.”
“I don’t blame the artists, at least not entirely. I’m more unhappy with the rest of us, who stopped caring who’s getting money under the table, or over the table. Even worse, some people seem to think that art is better if the artist wears a Rolex and hobnobs with CEOs.”
“But if the notion of selling out applies to anyone it has to be the avant-garde artist. I’ll let rappers flaunt their sports cars and movie stars pitch their tequila brands. But if you want to create a real revolution in art, I absolutely don’t want to see you bragging about your ties with Occidental Petroleum and flying on a private jet with the fat cats.”
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Lev Raphael debating the value of an MFA.
Ending notably by acknowledging—
“But let me be clear: MFA’s aren’t necessarily the best path for a [sic] writers. It depends on who you are, how much time and money you have, how well you work in a structured environment—and what your interests are. You might feel totally done with school and not want to enter a degree program of any kind. Reading on your own; finding a writer’s group; attending writers’ conferences; taking workshops online or in person; going on writers’ retreats; finding an editor who inspires and helps move you forward might fit you much better. Every writer is different, has different interests and needs, and a unique journey. Trust your intuition and your experience to find what works for you.”
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Goofy.
‘Epic corporate jargon alternatives’
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Clickbait: a history of celebrities encouraging you to READ
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Straight outta Fahrenheit 451
‘Liverpool library torched by far-right rioters raises repair funds’ (Guardian)
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::: Health & Wellness :::
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‘FDA approves epinephrine nasal spray, a needle-free alternative to EpiPen’ (The Hill)
“The Food and Drug Administration approved the first needle-free alternative to the EpiPen on Friday, a single-use epinephrine nasal spray for the emergency treatment of allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis.”
“The agency said it approved Neffy, from ARS Pharmaceuticals, for use in adult and pediatric patients who weigh at least 30 kilograms (about 66 pounds).”
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Covid is officially endemic
“We still need to do more I think to get this virus under control,” Jha says. “This is a virus that we have to deal with. We can’t just ignore it. We can do better and we should do better.”
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‘A summer covid surge is hitting at least 84 countries.’ (The Washington Post)
At least 40 athletes at the Paris Olympics have tested positive.
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‘American sprinter Noah Lyles says he tested positive for Covid-19, ran 200-meter race anyway’ (CNN)
So… Lyles managed a bronze medal and that is truly impressive. At the end of the race, he immediately went to the ground. He then sat in a wheelchair by the side of the track.
Lyles was not wearing a mask during the race or after.
Lyles was evidently still rather ill and, in turn, likely contagious.
There are claims that safety measures were taken.
I’m thinking back now to the NBA bubble during the pandemic. During that time, there was a lot of talk about what getting covid might mean for a professional athlete. At the Olympics the stakes are even more clear. Olympians win races by fractions of a second. The lasting effects of covid could easily make the different between an athlete who is capable of medaling in an event and one who has no shot at all.
My sense is that France and the IOC did not take nearly enough precautionary measures; however, I cannot say I have any intimate knowledge of their protocols.
WHO did release a public notice for those planning to attend the Olympic games.
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“About 400 Million People Worldwide Have Had Long Covid, Researchers Say. "The authors cited studies suggesting that only 7 percent to 10 percent of long Covid patients fully recovered two years after developing long Covid. They added that 'some manifestations of long Covid, including heart disease, diabetes, myalgic encephalomyelitis and dysautonomia are chronic conditions that last a lifetime.'"” (NextDraft / NYT)
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Go figure, a light rinse wasn’t going to save your life.
‘Peel those apples: washing produce doesn’t remove pesticides, study finds’ (Guardian)
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Serotonin strikes again.
“The study by scientists at the University of Oxford's Department of Psychiatry and the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR) Oxford Health Biomedical Research Center (OH BRC) found people with increased serotonin levels had reduced sensitivity to punishing outcomes (for example, losing money in a game) without significantly affecting sensitivity to rewarding ones (winning money).” (Medicalxpress)
“The researchers found that increasing serotonin made individuals better able to control their behavior, particularly when exposed to negative information. The study also showed that elevated serotonin levels benefited different types of memory.”
"We believe it may offer important insights into the cause and treatment of depression."
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‘FDA rejects psychedelic MDMA as treatment for PTSD, calling for additional study’ (AP)
Remains a little bizarre that ketamine has received approval for treatments before both psilocybin and MDMA.
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::: Recent Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Research :::
‘Global Processing Makes People Happier Than Local Processing’ (Frontiers, 2019)
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Studies have shown that people with autism are known to trend towards local processing.
‘Local Processing Bias Impacts Implicit and Explicit Memory in Autism’ (Frontiers, 2021)
“Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by atypical perception, including processing that is biased toward local details rather than global configurations.”
“These authors argue that this is a “cognitive style” rather than a core deficit and that a local processing bias may be overcome when explicit global processing is required.”
“Other findings in the present study suggest that the impairment in long term memory is limited to story recall and recognition. Stories are thought to be instances of complex material that require strategies based on verbal cues in order to understand the whole story. ASD individuals are well known to experience greater difficulties with increasing complexity of the material.”
“Enhanced perceptual abilities are a well-known clinical feature of ASD.” (Frontiers)
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Enhanced Perceptual Functioning (EPF) model (2006)
“One theoretical framework put forth to explain the perceptual differences in autism is the Enhanced Perceptual Functioning (EPF) model (Mottron et al., 2006; Mottron and Burack, 2001). The primary claim of EPF theory posits that processing mechanisms dedicated to the detection, discrimination, and categorization of perceptual stimuli are enhanced among autistic persons. The enhancement of these lower-level processes causes the weighting of perceptual information to be superior to that of higher-order cognitive operations, leading to enhanced perception of basic sensory information. This is not to say that higher-order cognitive mechanisms are deficient in autistic individuals, but rather, that such mechanisms are optional, while they are mandatory among neurotypicals (Mottron et al., 2006).” (Science Direct, 2021)
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‘Exceptional abilities in autism: Theories and open questions’
“The vast majority of research on autism spectrum disorder (ASD) focuses on characterizing and addressing the social communication deficits and restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior that constitute the diagnostic criteria for the disorder. Yet, a small but significant portion of individuals diagnosed with ASD exhibit exceptional cognitive abilities in one or more domains. These “twice-exceptional” individuals often have unique skills that enable them to make significant contributions to the workforce, while at the same time facing unique challenges during the transition to independent living due to a lack of services and broad public misperceptions regarding their condition. Here we review the current literature on cognitive divergence in ASD, focusing on cognitive theories, neural substrates, and clinical and societal implications for increasing understanding of this phenomenon.”
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::: Small Explorations & Deep Dives :::
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“Underconsumption Core”? I’m all for it, if it’s real. But on socials, everything is a bit of a put-on.
Sadly, people just make videos of whatever are the viral topics du jour. This is discussed in the excellent read Filterworld. It’s both ironic and a reminder of this very problem that I just linked to Amazon… You can also buy the book from Bookshop (but it’s significantly more expensive last I checked).
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‘OpenAI says it’s taking a ‘deliberate approach’ to releasing tools that can detect writing from ChatGPT’ (Tech Crunch)
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There are uncomfortable reminders everywhere nowadays that just a few companies own, well, pretty much everything.
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‘Pebbling: A Delightful Dating Trend Inspired by Penguins’
Sharing because… it’s very sweet.
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‘Nothing Says ‘Party!’ to Gen Z Quite Like a 50-Deck PowerPoint and a Remote Clicker’ (WSJ)
It’s Gen Z’s world, we’re just confused about it.
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Pitbull is getting a collegiate stadium named after him. Prepare for lots of cash-strapped higher ed institutions to follow suit.
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Post-Anti-Trust
Google may soon receive challenges by the likes of DuckDuckGo and other smaller search engines that have long been overshadowed by the behemoth.
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Whale photobombs Olympic moment
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“Flo Health, a period and pregnancy tracking app, raked in more than $200 million in investments beyond a $1 billion valuation, officially becoming the first purely digital women’s health app to achieve unicorn status.” (Investopedia)
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Small Eco Shifts … drips add up to wins.
“Currently in the trial phase, the auto brand’s “cool paint” looks like regular paint, except it’s six times thicker and much cooler to the touch, lowering roof-panel temperatures by nearly 22 degrees Fahrenheit and interior temps by 9 degrees, according to Nissan. Additionally, the paint reflects sunlight and creates electromagnetic waves that redirect energy away from the vehicle.” (Nissan)
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Cat with four ears. (!?)
Based on searches… apparently not a first!
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New research finds that money does buy happiness.
Well, in a society where capitalism has run amok… go figure.
“Money does buy happiness, and continues to do so indefinitely, new research suggests. A 2010 study found that self-reported happiness plateaus with an income of around $60,000 to $90,000 a year, but a reanalysis by researchers at the Wharton School last year suggested that the ceiling was more like $500,000. Now, those same scientists found that people whose net worth is in the millions and billions reported a significantly higher average level of happiness than those earning hundreds of thousands. “The magnitude of the difference between the low and high end of incomes is gigantic,” the author told Bloomberg.” (Semafor / Bloomberg)
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Research on whether or not VP picks increase the likelihood of winning a battleground state.
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‘Tim Walz on China’ (ChinaTalk)
Really interesting read on Tim Walz.
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Chinese media has mixed feelings on Walz but Chinese social media is loving him. (Semafor)
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“Illegal crossings of the US-Mexico border fell in July to around a fifth of their peak, reaching their lowest level since 2020.” (Semafor / WSJ)
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“9.1% of Credit Card Balances Have Slipped Into Delinquency Over the Past Year, Highest Since 2011” (The Skimm)
“Americans are falling behind on credit card payments at levels not seen since the aftermath of the 2008 recession.”
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“Taylor Swift concerts canceled over terror threat. Organizers called off three Eras Tour concerts scheduled to take place in Vienna this week, saying the Austrian government had confirmed a planned terrorist attack on the stadium. Authorities said they had arrested two extremists, including a 19-year-old Islamic State sympathizer believed to be planning a potential attack on the concerts. The concerts were sold out and 170,000 fans were expected to attend. All tickets will be automatically refunded, the organizer said.” (Morning Brew)
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‘How to stay safe at a crowded concert or music festival’ (CNN)
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How can we possibly deal with extremists in these situations? Hard to see ways to provide enough safety measures.
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‘This Is How Much the Winning 2024 Olympic Mountain Bikes Cost’ (Outside)
A lot.
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3.5 feet tall
Fossils suggest even smaller ‘hobbits’ roamed an Indonesian island 700,000 years ago (AP)
Got me wondering about architecture. Previously, I’ve heard that the things we build have traditionally been proportional to our size. Of course, technological advances have allowed us to build skyscrapers well beyond what would otherwise be within our implied physiological capacities.
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Most Americans Favor Legal Euthanasia (Gallup poll)
Notably, I have… since 7th grade when I first started writing reports on the subject.
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‘Google and Meta ran a secret ad campaign targeting teens’ (QZ)
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55 Things to Know About Tim Walz (Politico)
Highly recommend.
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A Walz into “challenge coins”
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‘The Best Seat on a Plane For Every Type of Passenger, According to Experts’ (PopSugar)
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“The Pants Detective” (Mental Floss)
Famously, people forget to swap out their shoes when they commit crimes.
I don’t think many considered their choice of denim would bring them down.
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AI has come for… your knitting needles!
‘The AI scams infiltrating the knitting and crochet world’ (zdnet)
“Impossible stitches: If you look at a picture of an item and the stitches are unlike anything you've seen before, they're probably fake.”
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“Etsy’s efforts to highlight craftsmanship in a world of cheap, disposable goods is backfiring with artisans who sell on its site.”
“Etsy is stuck between pleasing its investors and pleasing its 7 million merchants — the one group that sets it apart from other ecommerce companies. “A lot of us artisans who put the effort into creating genuine, handcrafted items are getting more and more dismayed at Etsy’s essentially abandonment of what was originally its core objective,” said woodworker Jonathan Crone, who is no longer building up his Etsy shop.” (Semafor)
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Youth Summer Work
“Data from payroll platform Gusto, per CNBC, found that the typical hourly wage for workers aged 15-19 years hit $15.68 in June, up more than 36% from the start of 2019 — outpacing the growth rate for workers of all ages on private payrolls, which climbed just under 27% across the same period, according to Fed data.” (Chartr)
“So, whisper it if you dare at your next family gathering: it’s never been more lucrative to be a teenager with a job in the US.”
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“S&P 500 CEOs make 268 times more than their employees, on average.”
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“Paris 2024 has now racked up more than 17 billion minutes across NBC streaming platforms, more than all other Olympics combined.” (Chartr)
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‘Kamala Harris's campaign reportedly made almost $1 million thanks to Chappell Roan-inspired hats’ (QZ)
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I deadass thought to say 86 recently… and then couldn’t remember what it actually meant.
Seriously tho, note how many of these terms have come back around.
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‘Pricey Veneers Have Made Hollywood Smiles Too Perfect’ (Hollywood Reporter)
Agreed. It’s actually a little creepy.
What does a complete set of fancy veneers cost? $60,000.
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‘BYU researchers play central role in state's approval of drought-resistant grass in Utah’
(Nice News / BYU)
“Utah legalized a drought-resistant grass species that delivers the look and feel of a lawn, without some of the environmental and financial downsides.”
“Hybrid Bermudagrass can last up to six weeks without water in the summer heat, according to research from Brigham Young University. In a comparison study, Kentucky bluegrass, the most common lawn grass in the state, began struggling after only one week of no watering.”
“Bottom line: Using this type of grass in a lawn could reduce watering to only two to three times a season,” BYU professor Bryan Hopkins.”
“Until last month, the resilient species was banned in Utah mostly due to its relation to the common Bermudagrass, an invasive weed. But the hybrid version does not act like its relative.”
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‘Heat pumps are expensive. What if billionaires bought them for everyone?’ (Grist)
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::: Google Search Trends :::
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There’s an ongoing trend, it seems, for high school students, especially high school seniors, to wear children’s backpacks. I like it. Harmless fun.
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Teen boys upvote the “broccoli haircut”
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Cucumber salad recipes are trending in spite of recent fears related to illness.
I have quite a few recipes involving cucumbers to recommend from orzo salad to Israeli salad to benedictine. Admittedly, for the most part, I’m one of those cooks who does it slightly different every single time.
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Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart are the top trending friendship
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::: News of the Weird :::
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THE WEIRDEST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD … are theoretically neurotypical (Harvard)
“The acronym WEIRD—Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich and Democratic—aims to raise people’s consciousness about psychological differences and to emphasize that WEIRD people are but one unusual slice of humanity’s cultural diversity. WEIRD highlights the sampling bias present in studies conducted in cognitive science, behavioral economics, and psychology.”
There’s an article in The Atlantic that, I believe, was first published in 2010 (maybe this?) that went semi-viral (by 2010 standards) on this subject.
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Speaking of weird… MAGA is really getting thrashed on socials.
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The Troubling World of Unschooling
“Onami is no stranger to controversy: A spiritual influencer and teacher with more than 250,000 followers on TikTok, she has advocated for such practices as “free birth,” or pregnancy and labor without medical intervention, and drinking her own menstrual blood.” (Rolling Stone)
“Unschooling encompasses a wide range of pedagogical philosophies. Some unschoolers adhere to a semblance of a schedule and provide loose instruction on subjects like reading and math; others eschew structure altogether, allowing their kids to create their own schedules.”
“Traditionally, the perception of homeschoolers has been that the majority of them are conservative Christians who have chosen to educate their children outside the home for religious reasons.”
“… unschoolers tend to be all over the political spectrum, though many have more of a libertarian bent, emphasizing the importance of “personal freedom”.
“Perhaps the biggest drawback of an unschooling education, according to Kunzman, is one that is less quantifiable via research. In a world that has become increasingly polarized, where there is far less focus on being civic-minded or community-minded and there has been increasing emphasis on the self, Kunzman is concerned that unschooling in a limited, siloed environment can further contribute to children growing up in an isolated bubble, without exposure to outside ideas or perspectives.”
“One of the traditional roles of public schools has been to prepare young people to be citizens in a democracy,” he says. “We can talk about reading and writing as crucial academic skills, but I think there’s something to be said for this idea that schooling, whether it’s traditional schools or alternative forms, somehow needs to help prepare young people to step into the role of thoughtful and respectful citizens. And so I think it’s an open question: When these alternative forms gained greater prominence, do they share that same commitment? And what does that commitment look like?”
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Consistent Recommendations:
ONE ART: a journal of poetry – daily poems
Verse Daily – daily poems
Chill Subs – down to earth submissions resource
** Want to subscribe? Get a discount using this ONE ART exclusive affiliate link.
Becky Tuch’s LitMagNews – literary community news & essential resource
Trish Hopkinson – resource for the literary community
Erika Dreifus – resource for the literary community
C. Hope Clark’s Funds for Writers –weekly email newsletter contains invaluable short essays
The Poetry Space_ with Katie Dozier & Timothy Green (podcast)
Commonplace: Conversations with Poets and Other People (podcast hosted by Rachel Zucker)
The Gray Area with Sean Illing (podcast)
Hidden Brain (podcast)
Heather Cox Richardson’s Letters from an American – daily news with historical context
Civil Discourse with Joyce Vance – political commentary
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So many good things here... especially excited about Telephone. An ingenious idea!