OMM – July 2024 – #3

~ a curated selection of discoveries ~

Jul 14, 2024

::: The Open :::

Dear Reader,

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With Gratitude,

~ Mark

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::: Personal Notes :::

If you’re seeking someone to work with on poetry editing, manuscript editing, or related services, consider my service VRS CRFT.

::: ONE ART :::

26 Literary Journals with Fast Response Times (Authors Publish)

This list includes ONE ART.

~ Upcoming Workshops ~

“Stealth Formalism”: Formal Verse for Free Verse Poets
Instructor: Nicole Caruso Garcia
Date: August 14, 2024
Time: 6:00-8:00pm (Eastern)
Price: $25 (payment options)

Registration info

Short & Sweet: Writing the Short Poem
Instructor: Donna Hilbert
Date: Thursday, August 22, 2024
Time: 5:00-7:00pm (Pacific)
Price: $25 (payment options)

More registration info forthcoming. Contact Mark Danowsky directly @ oneartpoetry@gmail.com if you wish to attend.

::: Podcasts :::

In a new episode of Hidden Brain, Shankar and his guest, Nafees Hamid, discuss how to pull people back from the edge of extremism and even attempt to rein in those who have strayed far from the status quo of their own tribe.

“The big myth of Individualism is we think we can exist independently but we don’t; we only exist in relation to other people.” – Nafees Hamid

::: Music :::

A well done review of Apollo Omar’s new album ‘God Said No’ (2024) by Aimee Cliff in Pitchfork.

Been listening to Clairo’s new album ‘Charm’. Pleasant but not mind-blowing. (Here’s Pitchfork’s review of the album.)

I’m still really in a phase of being fixated on The Japanese House.

::: The Literary Community & Beyond :::

I highly recommend reading Rob Greene's essay on 'The Devil Form' published in Cleaver Magazine. I had the honor of recommending this essay for publication.

Protagonist

A mobile app for reading poems and more from literary journals.

You’ll find select ONE ART poems if you sign up.

I hope you’ll check it out.

Rejection Wiki

For the uninitiated…

Notably, the ONE ART entries are not entirely accurate.

Speaking of Wiki…

WikiArt is pretty great!

Art by style, anyone?

Invisible Strings

113 Poets Respond to The Songs of Taylor Swift

Curated by Kristie Frederick-Daugherty

Forthcoming 12/3/2024

Disability Pride Month Reading List

Shout-out to AWP who created this in partnership with Bookshop.org

‘6 Best Poetry Writing Books of All Time’ (Most Recommended Books)

NYT ‘The 10 Best Books of the 21st Century’ (decided in 2024 inexplicably)

Anyways… I’ll note books mentioned by authors who voted as well as overall choices that I agree are worthwhile reads. Of course, I would have had to have read the book to weigh in…

· Matthew Desmond – Evicted

· Claudia Rankine – Citizen

· Ada Limón – Bright Dead Things

· Rachel Kushner – The Flamethrowers

· Kelly Link – Magic for Beginners

· Cormac McCarthy – No Country for Old Men

· Ben Lerner – 10:04

· Joan Didion – The Year of Magical Thinking

· Lucia Berlin – A Manual for Cleaning Women

· Roberto Bolaño – 2666

· Roberto Bolaño – The Savage Detectives

· Denis Johnson – Train Dreams

· George Saunders – Tenth of December

· George Saunders – Pastoralia

· Anthony Bourdain – Kitchen Confidential

· Rachel Kushner – The Mars Room

· David Foster Wallace – Consider The Lobster

· Ben Lerner – The Topeka School

· Renee Gladman – Houses of Ravicka (truly strange & memorable – shoutout to Jonathan Lethem for this surprise pick)

· Marjane Satrapi – Persepolis

I listened to a bunch of interviews with Torrey Peters in lieu of actually reading ‘Detransition, Baby’. The novel sounds great.

‘Most Anticipated: The Great Summer 2024 Preview’ (The Millions)

TBH, I don’t think I’m going to read anything on this list.

‘10 of the Best Books for Gen Z Readers’ (Book Riot)

Really, truly, who am I to weigh in on this?

The book on overcoming childhood trauma sounds like it would have utility value for many.

These two books sound potentially valuable: Special Topics in Being a Human by S. Bear Bergman & Humankind by Rutger Bregman

‘Small Press Community Slowly Builds Back After SPD Failure’ (Publishers Weekly)

‘How an Independent Midwestern Publisher Not Only Survives, But Thrives (Jane Friedman)

‘Art History and Performing Art Majors Face Highest Rates of Unemployment, New Study Finds’ (ARTnews)

“As of February 2024, art history majors faced an 8 percent unemployment rate and a 62.3 percent underemployment rate, despite having the highest level of education among the creative majors featured in the report, with 43.8 percent also earning graduate degrees.”

“Data-wise, it’s been a dispiriting few months for aspiring creatives: The NYFED report follows a survey published in May by Creatives Rebuild New York (CRNY) that found the majority of artists in New York state experience financial insecurity, despite the arts and culture sectors accounting for 7.4 percent of New York’s economy. CRNY launched its program in 2021 to provide a monthly guaranteed income and jobs for New York state artists, more than half (57.3 percent) of whom participated in its study self-reported earning less than $25,000 the previous year. (Nearly 86 percent earned under $50,000.) Additionally, 45.5 percent of respondents said they relied on gig work and temporary employment.”

We hear unemployment number all the time.

I’d like to see more attended called to underemployment.

‘Alternative Measures of Labor Underutilization for States, Second Quarter of 2023 through First Quarter of 2024 Averages’ (Bureau of Labor Statistics)

Also, did you know that that U.S. labor participation rate is 62%?

So… what are the other 37% doing?

· Retirement

· Education (currently in school and over age 16)

· Full or part-time caregivers

· Disabled or have debilitating health issues that making working impossible

· “Discouraged workers” who have “given up” job seeking believing there is nothing out there for them. This screams systemic issue. I suspect, in many instances, the system is victim blaming.

· Prison or other forms of institutionalization

· “Voluntary Non-participation” – Allegedly choosing to not participate in the workforce (fun internet theories suggest people choose hobbies, traveling, etc… not something most can do) … In some instances, this is a polite (ahem, roundabout) way of saying that a percentage of the labor force is wealthy enough that they don’t have to work if that don’t feel like it.

‘Ex-Mormon artist pulls exhibition from Arizona museum over concurrent Mormon art show’ (The Art Newspaper)

Turns out the “bathroom Picassos” were fake adding another layer of strangeness to an already bizarre story.

::: Health & Wellness :::

‘Over 1 in 5 People Worldwide Feel Lonely a Lot’ (Gallup)

You are not alone. But it really might feel that way. As we say, it's ok to not be ok. Important to talk to someone when it's getting too dark though.

‘Extreme heat and some medicines can be a risky combo.’ (AP)

‘Aging of US Presidents’ (JAMA)

Who hasn’t wondered about this?

Since we’ve had television, we’ve watched presidents age in real time.

No president enters the office and doesn’t look like he’s aged substantially over the course of a single term let alone two.

This study, from 2011, suggests a day in the life of a president is more like two days. That seems like a conservative estimate (to say the least) but let’s go with it. This means tack on a year of life for each year a president serves in office to their biological age.

Carter: 99 (104)

Clinton: 77 (84)

Bush: 78 (86)

Obama: 62 (70)

Trump: 78 (82)

Biden: 81 (85)

Note where this puts us now for Trump and Biden. In four more years…

Why is Carter still alive? Good genetics, probably.

Obama doesn’t seem 70. No, he doesn’t. I think this is part personality and view of life.

Does the impact of being president heal over time? Like other forms of trauma, I suspect that over time there is a degree of healing from the psychological and physical impacts from the toll taken by being president. Assuming you don’t die in office, you have the opportunity to live a pretty good life after finishing your presidency. After all, it’s your last job. This means, hopefully, you get to catch up on sleep, eat healthy, maintain an active but less frantic routine. Being a retired president is good and not just for your likeability (see presidential approval ratings post-presidency).

::: Small Explorations & Deep Dives :::

‘Trump's Party Issues a Platform’ (Joyce Vance)

Watch The Lincoln Project’s video – Aftermath

Terrifying.

‘Middle schoolers create over 20 fake TikTok accounts impersonating teachers in Chester County’ (6ABC)

First, let’s hold our horses a moment.

The first thought shouldn’t necessarily be, “This is why we need to ban TikTok.”

TikTok is aiding and abetting the situation, for sure, but there will be platforms in the future that will allow for deepfakes to be an issue. It’s already a problem on other extant platforms.

Should we still ban TikTok? Maybe. But that’s another conversation.

Kids have always played pranks on teachers. This brave new world sure is brutal though.

It’s tempting to “make an example” of the students responsible for this. Of course, let’s keep in mind that they remain children.

It seems like a situation where we need to take a breath and figure out how to make this an educational moment. Sure, suspend the kids for three days on principle if that seems like the appropriate proportional response. This goes on their permanent record. Ok. But this is just the beginning… so we really need to get up to speed quickly.

One idea that will create a few jobs. All schools (starting with elementary school) should have an IT department with at least one hire who is proficient in cyber security.

“These efforts were part of what Russian political theorists called “political technology”: the construction of a virtual political reality through modern media. Political theorists developed several techniques in this approach to politics: blackmailing opponents, abusing state power to help favored candidates, sponsoring “double” candidates with names similar to those of opponents in order to confuse voters on the other side and thus open the way for their own candidates, creating false parties to split the opposition, and, finally, creating a false narrative around an election or other event in order to control public debate.” (Letters from an American)

“One of the reasons for the explosion in productivity and innovation in the last century is that more tools and leverage are available to more people than ever before.” (Seth Godin)

U.S. confidence in Higher Ed is… not so confident.

Americans continue to predict that AI will have negative impacts on job loss, income inequality, societal polarization.

Spotlight on curiosity in the brain.

"This is really the first time we can link the subjective feeling of curiosity about information to the way your brain represents that information.”

Most & Least Stressed Cities in America (2024)

You might think, well, the top spots must go to competitive work environments live NYC and Silicon Valley, but no.

1. Cleveland (OH)

2. Detroit (MI)

3. Baltimore (MD)

4. Memphis (TN)

5. Gulfport (MS)

6. Philadelphia (PA)

7. Birmingham (AL)

8. Akron (OH)

9. New Orleans (LA)

10. Jackson (MS)

‘Vending machines for ammunition have hit grocery stores across the south’ (QZ)

‘College Admission Rates for U.S. Schools Compared’ (Flowing Data)

‘Is college worth it? Poll finds only 36% of Americans have confidence in higher education’ (AP)

‘These are the best and worst U.S. cities for new college grads’ (CBS)

‘Cypress Hill make 28-year-old Simpsons joke come true’ (BBC)

In Swiftie news…

‘A 19th century Philly civic leader’s legacy includes this pop culture icon’ (Billy Penn)

71% of 18-24 year-olds live with either their parents (56%) or relatives (15%).

The average age of a first-time homebuyer has gone up to 49. This is up a decade (from 39 years old) over the past 20 years.

As of 2023 data, men first marry around age 30 and women first marry about age 28.

Seeing what’s in people’s shopping carts is interesting. I spent enough time working in grocery stores to get a good sense of how people shop—especially people who are low income and on a budget. Mostly it was sad and disheartening. Things have only gotten worse.

Still, some Americans are making healthier choices either for themselves or for climate-conscious reasons or for ethical treatment of animals reasons.

I’m reminded of an economics quote I love that goes something like, “If you show me a person’s bank statement, then I can tell you everything about their life.” A little scary but there’s a lot of truth.

Charted: What Powered the World in 2023?

Clean energy now? A work in progress.

Let’s not misunderstand or delude ourselves into believing we’ve accomplished something impossible overnight. Wealthy countries could “go green” fairly rapidly if we truly put our minds and money where our mouth is… but the reality is we’ll probably take much longer than is desirable (to say the least).

Regarding the transition to green energy— it remains important to be aware that this is going to take a little bit of time. Especially in the Global South and, generally, developing nations. We remain very coal and oil reliant.

This is an 8-year-old article on tips to improve your memory. It has me thinking… have we debunked any of these in more recent times?

Some of these ideas sound potentially effective.

Our memory/memories are so fallible and constantly being rewritten (each time we remember or misremember a past event/experience) … memory is basically a vague metaphor for our subjective experience of a past reality when we were a past version of ourselves.

Panpsychism— the ultimate vegan fear.

Seriously though, this long read is worth it.

“From the Greek words pan (all) and psyche (soul), panpsychism is the view, held by many peoples around the world since antiquity, that consciousness resides in everything at least to some degree — that it’s a fundamental and ubiquitous feature of the physical universe. Animals have it, plants have it, and even single cells have it. That doesn’t mean your chair is conscious — but, according to some panpsychists, the atoms inside it might be.”

The article goes on to suggest that panpsychism easily sidesteps the “hard problem of consciousness” which is a significant statement.

“If you believe that consciousness resides, however minimally, in matter’s tiniest building blocks — atoms, electrons, quarks — then it’s much easier to explain how sophisticated forms of consciousness can eventually arise in, say, humans. It’s basically a story about scaling: As matter scales up into more complex creatures, the degree of consciousness shoots up, too.”

I require a more expert opinion to weigh in on this. Put another way, it’s above my pay grade.

“These scientists are digging right underneath the wall that was erected in the 17th century — the one that split matter from mind. Where that will lead is anyone’s guess.”

“But my friend had a totally different reaction. He was horrified by the idea of panpsychism. “Think of how much suffering there could be in the world!” he said … His reaction points to the big ethical question looming over panpsychism: If it’s right, then how the hell are we supposed to live? If everything is conscious, then can we not eat anything? … For one thing, panpsychism doesn’t argue that everything is equally conscious. Different things are conscious to different degrees, so we might feel different levels of moral obligation to them.”

“Your own ability to survive and thrive is also part of the moral calculus.”

I do think the premise of panpsychism offers a nice vision of the world. In short, that everything matters and we should tread carefully. It doesn’t mean don’t take action… not necessarily… it’s more like, yes, take action while being mindful of the impact of each of your choices/decisions. Reminding myself to find reasons for gratitude is usually a good place to begin.

“The global population is set to peak at 10.3 billion and begin declining by 2084, roughly two decades earlier than estimates from two years ago, according to the United Nations biennial population report.” (NBC News) / (Our World in Data)

Various sources (media, people like Elon Musk) keep trying to sell us on population decline as a problem when in fact it’s both good for the planet and good for humanity. We will more easily be able to take care of a smaller global human population—especially when you take climate change into account.

Sure, fertility rates are having somewhat of a decline. Humans have remarkable ingenuity and a “Children of Men” scenario is not the most likely outcome. Stop stressing about the amount of microplastics in our bodies. We’ll figure it out.

‘Rabies could become a disease of the past. Here's what it would take’ (NPR)

‘The World’s Top 100 Universities, by Country’ (Visual Capitalist)

Nothing says “I’m confident we’re going to lose” like crying foul months in advance.

‘Rightwing claim of ‘0% chance’ of fair US election previews effort to undo 2024 result’ (Guardian)

‘A Hundred Years of Mocking Vegetarians’ (The Atlantic)

Gotta appreciate this poetic diss from 1932 (Leander T. Decelles):

To take no life, the thought is sweet;

Yea, let your vegetables grow;

But human beings, alas, must eat.

Nearly half of Gen Xers are not on track to have the financial means to retire. (NPR Marketplace)

‘Meta is lifting restrictions on Trump’s accounts’ (CNN)

Seems like inappropriate timing…

‘Great-grandmother who just finished radiation treatments for breast cancer wins $5M lottery prize’ (AP)

Karma should work this way.

‘A Bug’s Life: David and Marian Fairchild’s Book of Monsters (1914)’ (The Public Domain Review)

::: Google Search Trends :::

Extreme weather.

“Coffee badging” is getting a lot of searches… again.

The People don’t know what a sommelier is…

This is kinda like Dr. Oz calling a veggie platter… crudité.

It may be the 100^th anniversary of the “Caesar salad”. This is clearly important information to have on hand… to discuss at dinner parties and the like.

Troublingly… people in Texas are searching “how to siphon gas” and “where to buy gas cans”

Trending searches involve people wanting to know when they will get their power back.

Understandable. Scary. World we live in.

We’ve had an ongoing heatwave with poor air quality in many places across the U.S.

Climate catastrophe is going to make these searches bleaker and bleaker.

“Same-sex marriage and abortion are the top trending issues searched with the Republican National Convention over the past day in the US”

Barcelona (closely followed by Japan) are locations that are receiving the most searches related to “overtourism”

Trending nail styles

1.     Rainbow nails
2.     Aura nails
3.     Milky nails
4.     Ombre french nails
5.     Cat eye nails

Trending nail colors

1.     Yellow
2.     Orange
3.     Milky white
4.     Light pink
5.     Blue

“twist”, “bubble”, “crochet”, “rhinestone” … lots of hair-related searches are throwbacks

“how to style a pompadour” was a breakout search, and “how to style wispy bangs” spiked +4,550%

Trending haircuts / hairstyles

1.     Henley twist hairstyle
2.     The edgar haircut
3.     French bob haircut
4.     Wicks hairstyle
5.     Mid taper haircut

Trending hair colors

1.     Ash gray
2.     Cherry cola
3.     Auburn brown
4.     Neutral brown
5.     Chocolate

People don’t know when to put on sunscreen or when to re-apply sunscreen.

“Eyebrow blindness” continues to trend

OMM – July 2024 – #3

~ a curated selection of discoveries ~

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