OMM – June 2024 – #3
~ a curated selection of discoveries ~
::: The Open :::
Dear Reader,
I hope you enjoy this weekly newsletter (published on Sundays).
If you’re a subscriber, please consider reaching out to a friend you think may enjoy this newsletter and encourage them to sign up.
If you can, please consider signing up as a Paid Subscriber.
I’ll be just as happy if you donate to ONE ART: a journal of poetry.
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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‘A Unique Opportunity Courtesy of Faith Shearin’
So far, I’ve received really positive feedback from those who have purchased Faith Shearin’s prompt packet.
A reminder, this initial prompt packet purchase (of writing exercises) includes the opportunities to work with Faith (for an additional fee) later this Summer (about 2 months from now or so).
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WORKSHOPS!
This Tuesday – join us for a haiku workshop with living legend Michael Dylan Welch!
Check out Michael’s website. It’s extremely educational!
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Date: Wednesday, June 26, 2024
Time: 5:30-7:30pm (Mountain Time)
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On the horizon…
‘Nature and Ecopoetry Workshop’ with Grant Clauser
Learn more about Grant on his website.
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Check out ONE ART’s future workshops, too!
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::: Podcasts :::
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More literary podcasts (LitHub)
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I have a massive list of those I want to listen to… and have not been able to find time to listen to… hard to prioritize… hard to decide which ones will be “most worthwhile”… this has been a frustrating ongoing struggle for quite some time now.
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::: Music :::
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I’ve had The Japanese House & MUNA’s song ‘Morning Pages’ stuck in my head on and off for days.
A few slight shift from being mildly obsessed with The Japanese House track ‘Sunshine Baby’ for a couple weeks.
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‘Toro y Moi Announces New Album Hole Erth Feat. Ben Gibbard, Porches, Kevin Abstract, & More’ (Pitchfork)
Sounds like it could be good.
‘Rose Quartz’ is my recommended entry song into this band.
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::: Film :::
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‘43 Movies You Should Watch Without Knowing Anything About Them’ (LifeHacker)
I haven’t seen quite a few of these. Some are horror or too horror-adjacent to seem like I’d want to engage with them.
I’ll vouch for:
o Palm Springs
o Memento (which I saw 3 times in theaters… because that felt important back in the year 2000)
o Dark City
o Big Trouble in Little China
o Starship Troopers
o Swiss Army Man (kinda… it’s very weird)
o Cabin in the Woods (which I could handle watching this even though am not into horror movies)
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::: The Literary Community & Beyond :::
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Printing is down.
Why? Probably because ink cartridges are expensive.
Remember that note in emails that said something like, “Are you sure you need to print this?” or “Take a moment and consider if you need to print this.” In any case, there are lots of instances when printing materials is/was wasteful.
For writers though, there is something different about working off of a printed draft. Right?
I haven’t worked off a printed poem draft in quite some time. I know I’m missing out.
It changes the whole experience. There’s a lot to unpack there but the main point is simply that it’s a different experience and you see things when a piece of writing is on the printed page compared to when you read it on a screen.
So what do you think we should we do?
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Audiobook listenership continues to rise.
What about audio recordings of poetry collections? Not so much. At least, not to the best of my knowledge.
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In Philly arts news…
The UArts situation tensions continue to run high.
The abrupt resignation of Free Library [of Philadelphia] staffers continues to raise questions.
There are a lot of articles out there at this point on both matters.
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AWP’s Executive Director is retiring.
[from] AWP memo for ‘Immediate Release’ on May 28, 2024
“Cynthia Sherman, executive director of the Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP), announced her retirement as of June 30, 2024, after twelve years with the organization. Executive search firm Ballinger | Leafblad will lead a national search for Sherman’s successor.”
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‘AWP Executive Director to Retire, Successor Search Underway’ (AWP)
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‘A Tale of Lists and Blacklists’ by Erika Dreifus (Hadassah Magazine)
A thoughtful reflection. Worth reading.
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Costco & The Literary Community
“Costco said that it planned to stop selling books year-round starting next year, a move that could significantly affect publishers.” (NYT)
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Join Chill Subs’ Sub Club to discover 100 lit mags that appreciate humor.
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Chill Subs’ ‘The Forever Workshop’ offers a few free workshops on humor writing.
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ICYMI, Becky Tuch’s LitMagNews interviews are available on YouTube
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"On one hand, these backlit subjects provide a perspective through which to focalize landscapes, as we imagine ourselves assuming the stance of their faceless bodies, beholding a nearly nuclear sunset or an alpine scene that recedes forever before our eyes. And yet there is also a kind of psychological distance here, akin to the refusal found in Dürer and Vermeer. The landscapes are predicated on spatial distance — “everything at a distance turns into poetry: distant mountains, distant human beings, distance events etc. all become Romantic”, wrote Novalis — yet our conditions of looking are also at a remove." (Public Domain Review)
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Meta book ban… in Florida (surprise, surprise). And Moms for Liberty is involved… also a shocker.
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‘What to Ask Your Beta Readers’ (Jane Friedman’s blog)
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‘How Symbols Can Support Your Writing Life’ (Jane Friedman’s blog)
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‘What Do We Really Mean When We Say “Show, Don’t Tell”?’ (Jane Friedman’s blog)
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The value of a ‘word cloud’
‘An overlooked and powerful editing tool’ (Seth Godin)
“At a glance, you’ll discover the essence of your tone, whether you have some stop words to be edited out (I use “just” too much) and what your audience is going to experience as the work unfolds.”
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‘Literary Magazines are Not the Barrier to Publication Many Writers Think’ (Funds for Writers)
“Before you take a leap into literary magazines, remember that they are difficult to break into. Most maintain high standards and will automatically reject your work if it’s not there.”
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Thinking about gatekeepers… would you rather have me or the algorithms used by employers and LinkedIn (I’m half-serious).
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Worth reading.
C. Hope Clark on putting in the hours. It’s the only way.
“You have a greater chance of winning the lottery rather than suddenly becoming famous as a writer.”
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Am Tam wrote a quasi-ONE ART-style poem that landed in The New Yorker. How ‘bout that?
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Seth Godin basically arguing for the benefits of formal verse.
“We shouldn’t always color inside the lines, but creative work is better when there are lines.”
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‘Now You Can Read the Classics With A.I.-Powered Expert Guides’ (NYT)
“Margaret Atwood and John Banville are among the authors who have sold their voices and commentary to an app that aims to bring canonical texts to life with the latest tech.”
“Mr. Kaag and Mr. Martin selected the authors who would offer commentary. They spent up to 20 hours interviewing each of these “Rebinders,” as they call them, about their chosen texts, trying to cover every possible question a lay reader might have. The recorded interviews were then fed into A.I. software.”
“Both seemed not to believe their luck to have been given carte blanche to assemble an intellectual dream team.”
“Other writers participating in Rebind include Roxane Gay (“The Age of Innocence”), Marlon James (“Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”), Bill McKibben (selections from John Muir), Margaret Atwood (“A Tale of Two Cities”) and the biblical scholar and Princeton University professor Elaine Pagels (selections from the New Testament and Secret Gospels).”
“For “Dubliners,” the James Joyce classic, Mr. Kaag and Mr. Martin flew to Dublin to interview the Irish novelist John Banville, who delivered video and audio commentary.”
“The authors who have worked with Rebind allowed their voices to be cloned and agreed to let their words be manipulated by A.I.”
“Ms. Gay said she had little interest in the tech that made Rebind possible. “I have a weird sort of comprehension block with A.I.,” she said. “The minute someone says ‘A.I.,’ I’m done.” […] Nevertheless, she said: “What I did think was interesting was revisiting classic texts. And anything that will get people reading is generally wonderful.””
“Mr. Martin and Mr. Kaag are bullish on the creative potential of A.I., viewing those who shun it as shortsighted. “It’s one of the great artistic opportunities of our time, to collaborate with this tool,” Mr. Martin said. They hope to give the Rebind treatment to 100 classics, all published before 1928 and therefore in the public domain.”
“Mr. Kaag likened the A.I.-powered author commentaries to the marginalia scribbled in a book by an expert reader, before citing a more pop-cultural reference.”
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Get Prompted
‘2024 Personal Essay Writing Challenge: Guidelines’ (Writers Digest)
Shout-out to Erika Dreifus for sharing this on her blog.
Begins June 24.
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For Father’s Day, Terri Kirby Erickson appears in Rattle’s Poets Respond
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::: Health & Wellness :::
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‘The color of your child’s swimsuit can play a role in their safety at the pool, experts say’ (CNN)
Scary to think about but yeah that makes sense.
Some colors and patterns are going to be more easily seen underwater whereas others might blend in.
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There seems to be a lot of confusion about sunscreen and what to wear and when and how and are they safe.
The best advice I’ve seen is to use the sunscreen that you can get yourself to use.
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A massive decline in deaths from tetanus over the past 40 years.
Just keep getting those annoying shots now and again folks.
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It’s true, *some* vegan meats (or “fakie meats” as I tend to call them) are not healthy.
Newer burgers, for example, that were designed to convert meat-eaters were intentionally created to be equally as delicious. In so doing, manufacturers (such as Impossible Meats and Beyond Meats) created products that had high saturated fats (and other nutritional detractors). You have to keep in mind that the goal here was to win over a demographic that is not easily sold on real meat replacements.
Health foods often taste like, well, health foods.
I love tofu but I both grew up eating it and know how to prepare it halfway decently.
I’ve learned to like tempeh (when prepared well) because it’s an acquired taste. Emphasis on acquired. Same goes for all sorts of things… #NotJustFoods
Cutting back on ultra-processed foods (UPFs) is important for all of us. American diets in recent decades have really learned into UPFs as normal components of almost every single meal.
I’m lucky (sort of)— my body has really started to rebel against eating all kinds of foods that are not healthy. Essentially developing additional food sensitivities and intolerances, as well as at least one autoimmune disease. I don’t think I’m alone in this. Our bodies never evolved to live on pizza rolls and corn chips or products with enough preservatives to have a frighteningly long shelf life.
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It's been all over the news (since we live in an absurd culture) that Joey Chestnut, who has held the Nathan’s hot dog eating contest record since 2015, will not be allowed to compete this year after signing a deal with Impossible Foods.
Why would Joey do this? $$$
Does anyone really want to go down in history as that dude who ate gross amounts of hot dogs? Seriously.
I’ve stated (in the last newsletter no less) that ethically I’m opposed to professional food eating contests for reasons that should go without saying.
In that last newsletter, I called attention to a former competitive eater who talked about being unable to enjoy food anymore. This person also hopes to live a little longer.
I realize it’s an unserious “sport” for most people and maybe that’s why we don’t see/hear about competitive eating protests. It’s really not something to be proud of.
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Turns out Joey got a Netflix special out of it.
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Lots of attention to a study that showed men eat more meat than women.
Some major takeaways include a look into cultural norms as well as climate concerns and how to, generally, get folks around the globe to slightly decrease their animal protein consumption.
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So-called “self-care” taken too far… (Vox)
“Self-care transformed into self-obsession”
I’m on the fence with this article tbh. In our work-obsessed culture, finding a healthy balance of taking care of yourself would be positive. Most of us (myself included), just aren’t really sure what this would look like.
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Business As Usual
“[…] let’s revisit another favorite conspiracy theory of the right: That a liberal Wall Street cabal is coming for guns, gas stoves, and single-car garages through a carefully orchestrated influence campaign inside America’s boardrooms.” (Semafor)
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‘5 out of 20 fastest-growing industries from 2019 to 2029 are in healthcare and social assistance’ (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)
“Employment is projected to grow from 162.8 million to 168.8 million over the 2019–29 decade, an increase of 6.0 million jobs. This reflects an annual growth rate of 0.4 percent, slower than the 2009–19 annual growth rate of 1.3 percent.”
The Economy slowed down because of The Pandemic. But only in certain respects.
The healthcare sector is going to continue to be where we need more and more people. Clearly, we need to incentivize workers to enter these fields by providing them with adequate pay, benefits, reasonable hours, appropriate amounts of sick leave and time off, the list goes on.
We also need to treat folks in healthcare who are not doctors with dignity and respect. Those who are doing the grunt work, the hard work, literally getting their hands dirty, are not the same people in medicine who are making the big bucks.
We need to properly take care of people who enter jobs we need or we’re going to get precisely the level of service we deserve.
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PCOS treatment?
‘Anti-malarial drug may help treat polycystic ovary syndrome, study suggests’ (Guardian)
“An antimalarial drug used in ancient Chinese medicine could be an effective treatment for polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a groundbreaking study suggests.”
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‘A 98-year-old man’s liver was donated. He is believed to be the oldest American organ donor ever’ (AP)
Wow, quite a feat. Frankly, I’m amazed he survived the procedure.
Scientific advances in medicine should get us to a place soon where this kind of generosity should not be needed.
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::: Small Explorations & Deep Dives :::
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The Threat of Project 2025
I encourage reading this post in full.
There’s a thoughtful section about James Madison that you earn by reading about what Russell Vought is planning.
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The article that got people to start to pay attention:
Trump loyalist pushes ‘post-Constitutional’ vision for second term (The Washington Post)
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The scariest word in America is ‘post-Constitutional’ (Philadelphia Inquirer)
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Profit Over Parenting
‘The first social media babies are adults now. Some are pushing for laws to protect kids from their parents’ oversharing’ (CNN)
“Nothing about her life was off-limits, including her tantrums, her medical diagnoses and the fact that she’s adopted, said Barrett, who uses the pronouns she and they.”
“The popularity of her mother’s posts earned them attention and perks from celebrities, such as front-row tickets to a Demi Lovato concert, Barrett said. But the oversharing severely impacted her as a child. In middle school, bullies used the information to mock her, causing her anxiety and other mental health struggles, they said.”
“Sometimes, she hid in her room to avoid appearing on camera. She didn’t confide in adults during her teenage years because she feared her secrets would end up on social media, she said.”
“Now 25, Barrett is part of a growing movement of young people who are urging lawmakers to protect children whose parents monetize their images, videos and private lives on social media. Though it’s unclear whether her mother earned revenue from the content — Barrett was too young to understand the process — the oversharing took a toll on her mental health, she said.”
“The young advocates are calling for financial compensation for these children, and their right to delete unwanted content when they become adults.”
“I plead you to be the voice for this generation of children because I know firsthand what it’s like to not have a choice in which a digital footprint you didn’t create follows you around for the rest of your life.”
“In interviews with CNN, Barrett said the oversharing created a lot of tension between her and her mother, and the two barely talk now.”
“Children’s advocates said it’s important for parents to respect their kids’ autonomy and allow them control of their own digital footprint. They said their biggest concerns are not parents who post occasional photos of their kids but family vloggers and other influencers who seek followers and revenue on platforms such as YouTube and TikTok. These influencers document their families’ most personal moments online, turning their home lives into reality shows.”
“Some children of family vloggers are living in homes that feel like sets and with parents who double as their bosses, said McCarty, who uses the pronouns them and they.”
“McCarty said family vloggers should be regulated like the film industry, citing as an example a California law that mandates 15% of all child performers’ earnings be set aside in an interest-earning trust.”
“Parents should think how they’d feel if someone shared their personal details, experts say”
“McCarty advises parents to operate under the golden rule of do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
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“Six in 10 U.S. adults would prefer to be their own boss” (Gallup)
Gee I wonder why?
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‘As temperatures in India break records, ancient terracotta air coolers are helping fight extreme heat’ (BBC)
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Goth gardens, eh? (NPR)
You can find beauty nearly everywhere in nature.
With that in mind, sure, a garden made up of lots of dark-colored foliage and flowers sounds lovely.
You could have some fun with it and add themes… purple + black or red + black.
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Record searches for "blue collar job" — unsurprising given rapid AI advancements suggesting a high probability that large numbers of "Knowledge workers" will be displaced from their positions.
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There’s a TikTok trend (#BlueCollar) and it seems to have positive elements (and not just for the influencers who are profiting off of their side hustle).
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‘South Korea thinktank suggests girls start school earlier to raise birthrate’ (Guardian)
This is absurd just like others have pointed out.
The birthrate issue usually comes up for sexist and misogynist reasons.
The planet isn’t hurting for humans though countries with the most humans will continue to have economic sway when it comes to geopolitics. This is why in 2050 Nigeria is expected to be more of a global player.
I started a year late (so to speak) and… the point is that boys are developmentally in much different spaces for much longer periods of time than a year. There’s a lot of data on this. Richard Reeves, who wrote, Of Boys and Men, gets into this.
On the other hand: “Schanzenbach, who has studied redshirting, said she and Reeves “have agreed to disagree” on this proposal. She asked him if its costs might outweigh the benefits. Implementing it, she continued, would mean boys would lose a year in the labor market, which could wind up costing them far more in terms of lifetime earnings.” (Northwestern)
When it comes to “maturity” and risk aversion…
The theory is that girls mature out of the “high risk taking” zone much faster than boys. It’s believed this may be a reason why girls are better at focusing on their studies and, well, in general.
How much of this is biological and how much of this is societal? No idea. Just putting it out there.
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‘A major reevaluation of the most masculine president’ (CNN)
Thought-provoking short interview. Sounds like an important read.
“I think that the women in his life understood that they needed to be the support system, especially emotionally, that he didn’t always have the capacity to have. I think if there’s one surprising thing in “The Loves of Theodore Roosevelt,” in addition to the argument that TR is actually the product of women, it’s that he’s an incredibly emotional person, as much as he’s caricatured in history.”
“To your question about what is happening now, people trying to understand gender roles, masculinity, manhood — instead of looking at it as a continuum, trying to sort of define it as one or the other, to me, it sounds very much like something I’ve heard before, if you pay attention to history.”
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Are liberals becoming more liberal? Some, yes. (Gallup)
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‘Countries Where Youth are the Most Unhappy, Relative to Older Generations’ (Visual Capitalist)
Basically, revisiting a known upsetting reality…
"Conventional wisdom says, and data somewhat correlates, that young adults (those below 30) tend to be the happiest demographic. Happiness then decreases through middle age and starts increasing around 60. However, the above countries are digressing from the pattern, with older generations being much happier than young adults."
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Unpacking a recent Apple press release
I would not all this “intelligence”; however, that being said, some of these algorithmic advancements seem to have genuine potential utility. Photo search abilities have been… bad. People are pretty good at “half-remembering” and so recalling the gist of what you’re looking for means a lot of “tip-of-the-tongue” info may be able to become locatable using enhanced search capabilities.
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“A new era of protectionism is leading to slower global growth and hindering attempts to eradicate poverty, the World Bank has warned.” (Guardian)
I encourage reading this short article in full.
A reminder we can do better. A reminder that we must accept that we live in a global society and discourage isolationist measures.
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Something of a hot take from Seth Godin on AI.
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A guide to National Parks across the U.S.
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Calling all LotR (Lord of the Rings) fans
“Walking” Tree That Looks Like An Ent Just Won New Zealand Tree Of The Year
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LotR is an example of a “franchise” that got most of the value stripped away from it be extreme commercialization. Even cultural critics from 20-30 years ago probably didn’t think it would get quite this bleak.
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Once you’re over 30 if you’re [too much] defined by the media you consume… that’s frankly pretty sad. Still, it’s nice when the stuff you’ve loved throughout your life isn’t co-opted by mainstream culture with the sole aim of squeezing every penny out of it.
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“Taste” has become increasingly interesting as a philosophical topic in our current zeitgeist. What does it mean to have good taste? What does having “good taste” say about you? Does it say really anything at all?
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‘Nearly half of the federal government’s office space could be converted to housing, expert firm says (paywall)
We could do this in the U.S.
Seemingly Canada has been on this since early pandemic based on seeing many articles.
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Generative AI Chatbot Weaponization Fears
“I’m a little skeptical of the idea that generative AI, a tool that does not do original research and doesn’t really have a good way of verifying the information it does surface, will be able to replace a practice that is, at its best, an information-gathering method that relies on doing original work and verifying the results.”
“What generative AI can do, in the hands of bad actors and a phalanx of grifters — or when deployed to maximize profit without regard for the informational pollution it creates — is fill your feed with junky and inaccurate content that sounds like news but isn’t.”
(Vox, A.W. Ohlheiser)
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Where do you get your news? (Pew Research)
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“For the Lakota, the birth of a white buffalo calf with a black nose, eyes and hooves is akin to the second coming of Jesus Christ, Looking Horse said.” (AP)
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‘Two-drug therapy shows promise in treating meth addiction’ (UPI)
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‘Will Ferrell once embarrassed his son at prom by dressing up as a medieval lord’ (EW)
Almost exclusively sharing this for the look on his son’s face.
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In birding news…
‘UF researchers: Soaring birds use their lungs to modify mechanics of flight’ (UF Health)
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‘Sarah McBride will soon make history as the out first transgender congresswoman’ (LGBTQ Nation)
“McBride, 33, would also be the youngest person elected to represent Delaware in Washington since Joe Biden joined the U.S. Senate in 1973 at age 30.”
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U.S. cities with the highest rent (Visual Capitalist)
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Netflix is trying to take over football… or at least bring NFL to streaming in a serious blow to cable tv.
Stat Significant breaks down the battle of streaming vs. cable
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Notable to see where folks drive… the least (as well as where they drive the most). This would seem to indicate a walkable city &/or place with good public transit.
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Did you already know?
Online chess has been dominating.
Companies are involved… and, apparently, they hire ringers? Too funny.
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‘Hybrid working works: huge study reveals no drop in productivity from working from home’ (Nature)
“Working from home two days a week improved staff retention and satisfaction”
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Microsoft Excel nerds… uh, I mean, “stars”… thrown down in competition.
Oddly fun read. (The Verge)
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::: Google Search Trends :::
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Things are getting exciting.
Searches for “dumb phones” are at a 5-year high and searches for a “simple phone” are on the rise.
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Trending hair colors
1. Red copper
2. Dark blonde
3. Light ash brown
4. Soft auburn
5. Chestnut brown
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Trending hairstyles/haircuts
1. Blow out taper
2. Blunt bob
3. Pixie
4. Skin fade
5. Mohawk
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[on] Weddings
The Youth continue to be interested in disposable cameras.
Micro weddings are popular.
People don’t know which hand you wear a wedding ring on.
People don’t know if it’s acceptable to wear black to a wedding.
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Top trending wedding dress styles
past month, US
1. Long sleeve satin
2. Lace sleeve
3. Backless
4. Short sleeve
5. Corset
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Top trending wedding guest dress colors
past month, US
1. Blue
2. Brown
3. Black and gold
4. Yellow
5. Dusty blue
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Lemon balm is trending. Apparently it does perennially around this time as it has skin protectant properties.
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Weighted clothing is trending. Especially weighted vests.
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Some think Gen Z is looking older than Millennials… or, I guess, older than Millennials did at the same age (?) … The theory is that Gen Z is aging faster…
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People are considering Edible Arrangements as Father’s Day gifts… Wow, sure is hard for many of us to shop for Dads.
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Skorts are in style.
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::: Questions :::
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What is Elon going to do with another 56 Billion?
How many combined country’s GDP equal this amount? Here’s a list of countries with the lowest GDP
GDP isn’t the best economic indicator for many reasons… but, in this instance, it’s a useful metric for a thought experiment.
In case you’re wondering ‘Elon Musk Avoids Paying Child Support Despite Being World’s Richest Person’ (The Richest)
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Consistent Recommendations:
Heather Cox Richardson’s Letters from an American – daily news with historical context
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)
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Thank you for the curation--and especially for the shout-outs!