OMM – May 2024 – #2
~ 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.
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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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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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Submission Tips by Diane Lockward
Also featured in Erika Dreifus’ Finds for Writers
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ONE ART is fundraising for an anthology.
Workshops are one way we’re fundraising:
If you’re interested in getting on the waiting list for any of these workshops please let me know.
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You heard it here first.
A poem of mine was published by Etymology Press.
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::: Podcasts :::
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Just in time for Mother’s Day, Rachel Zucker released a recording of ‘The Poetics of Motherhood’ – a lecture collected in The Poetics of Wrongness. Highly recommend.
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::: Music :::
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Steve Albini died at age 61 from a heart attack. RIP.
Albini was known for so many wonderful collaborations as well as his own music.
This is hearsay, but I was told that for much of his life, even after becoming famous, Albini would still only charge $5000 to record with him.
As of this writing, this service lists Albini’s engineering fees as “$900/day in-house, $1300/day travelling”. I don’t know what it costs to record with, say, Jack Antonoff or Kanye West… but I’m going to guess more… a lot more. And the fact that Albini remained publicly accessible is very cool.
If you don’t know Albini and you see his band names then context is needed to understand that he’s a weirdo but not a creeper.
Check out his discography and, notably, scroll to see the vast sea of albums he helped create.
Since before I was even alive, Albini has been shaping music. Even if this isn’t the music you listen to and love—he’s partly responsible for the existence of what we have now.
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‘Steve Albini’s 20 favourite songs of all time’ (Far Out)
Gotta love a list that features this kind of range.
Buddy Holly to Kraftwerk to The Birthday Party to Wipers
Seeing Wipers “Romeo” on this list makes a lot of sense when it comes to taste & influence.
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Albini’s 1993 essay ‘The Problem with Music’ about how musicians don’t get paid fairly. Sound familiar? Clearly a great deal has changed in the past 30 years…
“There’s no need to skew the figures to make the scenario look bad, since real-life examples more than abound.”
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Maggie Roger’s new album is the new Taylor Swift album you were hoping for.
Listen to 'The Kill' & feel the influence.
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Ne-Yo’s Tiny Desk is wonderful. Harp accompaniment!?
I am a little concerned about his health given the level of sweating… We’re talking Embiid on the court level of sweating.
It’s possible this is because he was debuting a new, heartfelt track. Watch the show.
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Looking for more Tiny Desk? A list person?
I didn’t realize it went back this far.
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The Free Press on the Drake v. Kendrick nonsense:
“The language is new, but the tension is age-old: it’s all about commercial success vs. artistic cred.”
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I would argue ‘Ether’ (Nas) is, hands down, the best diss track of all time. Is it extremely offensive? Yes. That is also true.
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I somehow missed the memo (it was a terrible time in my life… that’s the somehow)… that Kendrick won a Pulitzer for DAMN. in 2018.
I certainly didn’t miss the album. DAMN. deserved the accolades (and still does).
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Music that stands the test of time (decade over decade).
Points for R.E.M. & Depeche Mode, Otis Redding & Sam Cooke, MJ & Fleetwood Mac, & Jay & Mariah, & more.
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::: The Literary Community & Beyond :::
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The Idea of You is a really sweet (even surprisingly heart-wrenching!?) film. I recommend it.
I’m not surprised it’s good, in part, because Michael Showalter directed it. If you’re a Wet Hot fan, you can imagine “Coop” growing up to make something like this.
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‘In My Nancy Drew Era’ (MAS)
“Sure, Nancy can be annoying; after all, how many people can sew their own dress for a charity beauty pageant, identify antiquities, chase thieves, get chloroformed or hit over the head or locked in a cellar, AND still make it home for dinner? But I, for one, admire that kind of moxie. Also, Nancy is unfailingly cheerful, including when surrounded by nitwits and cowards, which is not nothing.”
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Becky Tuch shares an amazing tribute to her father. As I wrote in the comments, I wish I had had an opportunity to hang out with him as I get the sense we would’ve gotten on well.
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Huge Shakespeare fan? Name your 3 favorite illustrations.
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We’ve already determined that birds aren’t real.
Now, the game is afoot in pursuit of dethroning vegetables.
As a vegetarian, I live off leaves and such so it’s hard to know what’s normal.
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Pure absurd joy and silliness. Which we all need now and again.
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Are the kids reading?
Sounds a little too much like “peaked at 9”.
That’s depressing.
But… Zillennials are thinking about reading & supporting local bookstores. So not all is lost!
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Writing prompt? (&/or a disturbing reminder of the passage of time)
‘What Food Product Came Out the Year You Were Born?’
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‘81 Opportunities for Historically Underrepresented Authors in May 2024’ (Authors Publish)
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Contract Critique: Dashtoon (Writer Beware)
Sounds like a shady operation.
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Apple basically suggested in an ad that the new iPad could replace all previous forms of art… and then had to apologize and walk it back.
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‘Robert Downey Jr. To Make Broadway Debut This Fall In Ayad Akhtar’s New Play ‘McNeal’’ (Deadline)
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Good advice.
‘An enemy of envy’ (Austin Kleon)
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Will the real Emily Dickinson please stand up?
“Toward the end of her life, in 1884, she sent 86 letters to 34 recipients: the majority express thanks, others include a gift of flowers or food, and a handful convey condolences or congratulations.”
“[…] Dickinson was never isolated from the world, but rather sensitively engaged with local and national events.”
“Can we accept that being a loving friend was at least as important to her as her poetry?”
“Her reluctance to see visitors as she grew older—but not to bake them gingerbread or correspond with them—can be explained at least in part by the time she spent caring for ill family members or navigating her own poor health.”
I don’t like being seen when I don’t feel well so don’t expect me to be a social butterfly when my body is breaking down. As my family likes to say, “I come by this honestly.”
On the flipside, I was totally cool with using a cane for a while when my back was in especially bad shape and I have zero qualms about using a cane or a walker or hearing aids or any other medical devices that would make my life, and the life of those around me, easier. I understand people are stubborn and don’t want to feel like they’re “giving up” in any way…and then also, I say variants on this often, excessive pride is called a sin for a reason.
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B-movie legend Roger Corman died at 98.
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::: Health & Wellness :::
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‘Gas stoves spread harmful pollution throughout your home.’ (WaPo)
“How? By releasing unhealthy levels of nitrogen dioxide — which can trigger asthma and other health issues — sometimes even hours after they’re turned off, a new study found.”
“Are you at risk? People living in smaller homes were exposed to the highest pollution levels, the study said. Its lead author said people should consider installing safer appliances.”
I’d like to see government intervention here. Much like a tax credit for installing solar panels or buying an electric car or being a first-time homebuyer… Except, here’s a big difference—having a safe stove you in your home is a borderline necessity. Sure, you can cook with a microwave and a toaster oven and an air fryer… but people should have access to a safe stove. Even if they aren’t using their gas stove, it may still be poisoning them.
I’ve lived around a number of deeply questionable stoves so this really hits home with me.
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‘Why Your Breakfast Should Start with a Vegetable’ (TIME)
Highly recommend this read.
A thoughtful article. A perspective I have heard before and seems scientifically sound.
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Panera is [finally] getting rid of its dangerous Charged beverages… which were tragically death sentences for several individuals and caused harm to many.
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‘This 9th Grader Invented a Soap That Can Treat Skin Cancer’ (Nice News)
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PTSI VS. PTSD: What's the Difference?
I learned something new.
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::: Small Explorations & Deep Dives :::
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Peregrine falcon live cam!
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A little history of Marshall McLuhan’s work. (The Free Press)
Why? McLuhan comes up in conversation often nowadays for obvious reasons. He, and others, predicted our current predicament(s) with tech and AI.
Conversations such as this & this on The Gray Area with Sean Illing.
“His vision anticipates a world of bespoke information and analysis (some of it hallucinated) that have flooded our world.”
[excerpt from The Free Press article]
In the book Laws of Media, the McLuhans identified four things they believed all technologies did:
Enhance — to make something possible, or accelerate it
Obsolesce — to make an old thing obsolete
Retrieve — to bring back some feature of an earlier technology
Reverse — to reverse or flip when pushed to an extreme
They turned these laws into a tool they called the tetrad. The tetrad asks four questions of any new medium or technology. The answers to these questions give you a starting point to grasping the possible effects of any new development.
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‘The World’s Top Media Franchises by All-Time Revenue’ (Visual Capitalist)
Seems notable that some newer franchises rapidly ascended.
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Watched Gattaca recently?
As the meme goes… people will do X to avoid going to therapy.
‘Want Green Eyes? That'll Be $12,000’ (Allure)
This isn’t about playing God. This is a health risk.
If we get to a point where this is super safe… then have whatever color eyes you wish.
Meantime, your eye color is fine the way it is. Anyone who think you need to do this to become “more beautiful” is not looking out for your best interests.
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Agreed, men are terrifying. I’ll take the bear, too.
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An article about parents who only want daughters.
I get it because, all too often, men are terrible.
As a counterpoint, my mother used to say, “Boys are easier.” There’s a lot to unpack in that statement. Boys (especially cis straight white boys) move easier through our world. Yes, even in the 2020s. Shocker. As a non-parent, I don’t have a lot of weight to throw around here.
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A trans person is killed Every. Single. Day. in the United States.
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‘New FBI Data Shows More Hate Crimes. These Groups Saw The Sharpest Rise.’ (The Marshall Project)
I took a deep dive on hate crime statistics.
I’m not really encouraging this. It didn’t feel super good for my mental health.
Here’s an important takeaway from many sources I’ve read since October 7 — What is bad for one minority group is bad for all minority groups.
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Are you living in fear of Jared Leto?
You might need a chic panic room.
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‘Bumblebees use Lego blocks to build science and recognise the value of teamwork’ (Univ. of Oulu)
“It has previously been thought that understanding the role of a partner in a cooperative task is a complex phenomenon that is mainly characteristic of big-brained mammals such as humans and chimpanzees.”
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‘The Most Common Last Name in Every Country, Mapped’ (Mental Floss)
On close inspection, you’ll note that the Soloman Islands are, clearly, massive fans of the underrated band Mae. I highly recommend Mae’s ‘Destination: Beautiful’ as a pure joy listen (as opposed to what I used to consider it… which was a guilty pleasure).
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“High-powered working women apparently have a new drug of choice: magic mushrooms. “It’s like if you were to take a happy Advil,” says Koehl Robinson, a 41-year-old wellness entrepreneur from Venice Beach. “Out of every 10 women I talk to, eight are microdosing.”” (The Free Press on WSJ article)
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‘Civil War 2? Many Voters Think It’s Likely’ (Rasmussen Reports)
I don’t.
If we do, it will not look like the OG Civil War (thankfully).
I’ve addressed this before… Liberals are literally badly out-gunned. We are not going to go to war in the traditional sense. It is possible there may be attempts to shift populations to certain states making them very red or very blue. Travel between these states would become less common. It is further divisions at all levels of government. Culture would suffer. This would further make clear that we are living in [at least] two Americas.
We all know that it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, for those of limited means (bluntly, those living in poverty) to be able to relocate. This means we’d have large populations of people who disagree with each other trapped in the middle of states where the state and local laws are extremely disparate from their belief systems. They would also be targets living in fear of their own neighbors. There are many places that are already like this. There are many places in the world where this is common (both historically and in present day). This is not what anyone wants. It’s not in the best interest of anyone.
We want to avoid an internal U.S. conflict at all costs. We can bridge the divide. Statistically, American value systems are not all that different when it comes to morals and ethics. It’s about how we go about handling our moral-ethical considerations. This is the part that is seen. The part inside is not so different at all. We would be wise to keep this in mind.
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Another way of saying always bring your A game. It's true, we should. (Seth Godin)
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In the following excerpt from a newsletter, Scott Melker (notable crypto enthusiast, archnemesis of Gary Gensler) describes Modern Monetary Theory (MMT):
Modern Monetary Theory […] is an economic theory that challenges conventional views on government spending, deficits, and monetary policy. At its core, MMT suggests that a government that issues its own currency can never "run out" of money in the same way that individuals or businesses can. This is because the government can always create more money to meet its obligations, such as paying for goods and services, funding social programs, or servicing debt denominated in its own currency.
The process of money creation through bond issuance and purchase by the Federal Reserve is one massive, convoluted loop. The government issues bonds, essentially IOUs, which are often bought by the Federal Reserve using newly created money. This money, in turn, is backed by the bonds themselves (among other things) where money is created to buy assets that back the money's value.
Yes, it’s far more complex than this, but you get the idea.
Have I confused you at all up until this point? Don't worry, if the explanation of money creation didn't make sense, there are several other ways money is created that might be even more perplexing: bank lending, government spending, quantitative easing, foreign exchange operations, and central bank operations.
Borrow money—> print money —> lend money —> inflate money—> Ad infinitum.
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He then goes on to make a sort-of-joke about how it’s like the game Jenga… which is concerning.
I’m sharing because fiat currency is confusing… and we know this… and we know that The Fed has limited tools to fight inflation… and inflation is a problem… and this time around it’s not going away easily or fast enough…
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“In worrying news for U-Haul, Americans are also making less plans to move than ever. Only 13% expect to move in the next year, and 25% think they’ll move in the next three years.” (The Daily Skimm)
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If you care what people wore to the Met Gala…
Shout-out to Kieran Culkin and Bad Bunny for the fun outfits.
I’m not gonna talk [specific] trash / throw shade (whatever the kids say now).
There are many terrible outfits. Mostly terrible outfits, in fact. That’s high fashion for you.
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Not really news but grad students often live in poverty.
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State taxes speak volumes.
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Climate win! ‘Electricity from clean sources reaches 30% of global total’ (AP)
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Definitely cool with the Boy Scouts changing their name.
Perhaps Girl Scout cookies will soon be ‘Scout cookies’ which is fine, too.
The main issue remains helping children and not harming them.
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Do you love spreadsheets?
I mean kinda.
‘Miss Excel and Morning Brew are partnering to bring you a FREE LIVE 60 minute masterclass!’
Does this sound like fun? No, not really.
It does sound FREE however.
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Bernie Sanders and Ro Khanna reveal bill to ‘cancel all medical debt’
Agreed. Let’s do it.
Undue Medical Debt (FKA. RIP Medical Debt) is/was a great idea. But it never should have been necessary.
When are we, as a society, going to agree that healthcare (which includes mental healthcare) is a human right and not a privilege?
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"The Green Apple: 1 in 24 New York City residents, some 350K people, are now millionaires... more than any other city globally." (chartr)
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Tattoo typo gets wings.
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‘Scientists are trying to get cows pregnant with synthetic embryos’ (MIT)
Interesting read – And, yes, many ethical dilemmas.
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Russian attempts to control and shift the narrative.
Kant, really?
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‘R Derek Black - former KKK - shocks as they quietly come out as trans’ (Daily Mail)
This is quite a turnaround. Good for them.
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It’ll even survive TikTok being shut down. Trust me.
Gen Z are innovators. Ask a Gen Zer, “Do you know how to do this?”
If they don’t, they’ll say something like, “I’ll figure it out.”
They’ve pivoted just fine through each social media evolution as the medium dictates the messaging on the platforms.
The main concern for Gen Z involves their mental health.
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‘Miss USA and Miss Teen USA resign days apart, casting a spotlight on the organization’ (NPR)
What? Pageantry has issues? Who knew??
Seriously though, I respect anyone stepping down from a position and publicly citing mental health issues or problems with an org.
Real world use of acrostic:
“Eagle-eyed followers noted in the comments section that the first letters of the first 11 sentences of her statement spell out "I AM SILENCED" (the remaining three spell "HIP").”
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Boeing continues to have terrifying problems.
Look, if you can’t do the regular thing you can’t try the space version of the thing. New rules.
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“Two broods of periodical cicadas are emerging across the US. The event marks the first time in over 200 years these two broods—out of almost 3,400 known species—will appear simultaneously.” (ABC News)
Poet Nickole Brown wrote this beautiful Facebook post about cicadas:
“One silver-and-bronze cicada I’ve worn for years. Recently, I’ve added two more—one to mark a benign diagnosis after yet another cancer scare, another to mark coming through the painful end of my marriage. So, yes, cicadas: To me, they are totem of survival and resurrection—they persist, sometimes for as long as 17 years, in darkness, only to rise up singing. So let me tell you what I know: They do not sting. They do not spread disease. They do not bite. At this last stage of their long lives, they don’t even have mouths, so they cannot bite, cannot eat—not your flowers, not your vegetables, not your trees. And yes, they rise in prodigious numbers, but they are not locusts, not a plague. They are the very opposite of a plague: though smaller branches will be damaged when they lay their eggs, they do little harm; the soil will be aerated and fertilized. Also made happy are the many animals who feast on them, so killing cicadas with pesticides means you’re poisoning countless innocent others. And for mercy’s sake, don’t think their coming signals the end of the world. If anything, they are reminder of the *beginning* of the world—they were the butterflies of the Mesozoic, their song once heard by dinosaurs. For millions of years, they’ve emerged in 13- and 17-year cycles. Only recently have their clocks been scrambled by the climate crisis, so the grand emergence this spring means we’re still on a schedule that was set long before humans even existed. Celebrate the season of them arriving, once again, just on time. We’re not due to see an emergence like this for another 221 years, so imagine—if we do what we can for this good earth, in the year 2245, they might just come again. What I’m saying is don’t call them an infestation, an onslaught. Words matter. Call them a celebration, a jubilee, life’s own flash mob. Or use their collective noun: a superfluidity. How beautiful is that? A superfluidity of cicadas. What I’m saying is don’t be frightened or disgusted. Open your windows wide to a whirring call that, while otherworldly, is very much of our world. Open your heart to a calling that, while alien-sounding, comes from the place that was our home long before we called it home.”
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Straight out of a Black Mirror episode…
‘Robot dogs armed with AI-aimed rifles undergo US Marines Special Ops evaluation’ (Ars Technica)
Terrifying…
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More on the importance of “Third Places” (aka. Third Spaces). In brief, places that are not your home or your workplace. We need these spaces. It’s good for our health. (Vox)
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A disturbing financial report.
There’s lots to unpack here.
“Concern over current events on financial wellbeing hits millennials the hardest, with concerns of the effects of global war and conflict topping the list (55% of millennials), followed by climate change (48% of millennials), and AI (44% of millennials).”
“Our findings indicate that Gen Z and millennials are nearly three times more likely to fear their financial situation could lead to experiencing homelessness as compared to Boomers and older respondents.”
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‘Why you should let insects eat your plants’ (BBC)
Short answer: a biodiverse garden should not be wholly devastated by “pests”.
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::: Google Search Trends :::
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“New relationship energy has increased +460% in search interest over the last week”
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People in the U.S. want to know how to watch Eurovision
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Interest in the NHL is reaching all-time highs
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People are thinking about gene therapy
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“Nirvana’s In Utero quadrupled in search interest over the past day after the passing of producer Steve Albini”
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People are excited about “Aeonium Pink Witch Succulent” plants. No idea why.
Personally, I don’t find them all that exciting.
Recently, people were excited about monstera plants (a better obsession).
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In thinking about dating men…
Apparently interest in such books as “Catcher in the Rye” and “Infinite Jest’ are red flags. (not news)
What are early dating green flags? Interest in buying a house (he has $$$)
Some people wonder if “J” names are red flags. That is absurd. What’s wrong with people?
The whole red and green flags thing gets out of hand quickly (surprise, surprise)…
I just learned about “double texting”. You can look it up. I’m a geriatric millennial so I’m going to do it wrong regardless.
Apparently, there’s a wrong way to “pick out a puppy”. Uhh… what?
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Here are traits people think are linked to astrological signs:
Why are cancers so crazy?
Why are aquarius so fake?
Why are scorpios so secretive?
Why are geminis so indecisive?
Why are libras so fake?
Why are sagittarius so energetic?
Why are aries so emotional?
Why are leos so sensitive?
Why are capricorns so annoying?
Why are virgo so private?
Why are pisces so stubborn?
Why are taurus so stubborn?
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What do I know about this? Very little.
I will say that Aries are historically the first people to announce their astrological sign to me.
Geminis typically seem aligned with their signs. Not in a good way.
Taurus’ are also aligned with their signs. Usually not in an ideal way. (I am one btw. Did you already figure it out?)
Also, Drake is a Scorpio. That’s [clearly] extremely important to know. He even made a fashion brand related to this OVO (which looks like a cute owl face… so a few points for that.) Not a recommendation for how to spend your hard-earned money.
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People are concerned about brain parasites because of RFK.
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“The Pink Floyd song “Hey You” (which includes the line “and the worms ate into his brain”) doubled in search this week”
Ok… you had to laugh just then, right?
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::: News of the Weird :::
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A 32-year-old woman (with a master’s degree and, seemingly, a full-time job as a social worker) pretended to be a high school student. The “why” remains unclear.
This is weird. And this person is clearly mentally ill. So, I’m not making jokes.
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A look into the “crazies” who leave 1-star reviews. (Slate)
I encourage reading the article in full because… it’s well-written and oddly thoughtful.
“Dunking on one-star reviews also ignores their practical purpose as a last resort for people who feel they’ve been conned.”
“The one-star reviews I love, the ones that feel like actual literature, have little to do with commerce. In fact, they rarely seem like reviews. They’re part obscured confessional, part accidental poetry, containing writing that has been liberated from distractions like narrative, punctuation, and coherence. Like great fiction, they’re elusive and complicated. Unlike most of the internet, they’re remarkably human.”
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How Americans Feel About Federal Government Agencies (Visual Capitalist)
National Park Service for the win!
Disgraceful that the Department of Education has less cred than Homeland Security. Yeesh.
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Hmm… close up of the brain or wild hallucination?
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‘Michigan woman found living inside rooftop store sign’ (Guardian)
Sure, weird, but mostly just sad.
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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
Becky Tuch’s LitMagNews – literary community news & essential resource
Trish Hopkinson – resource for the literary community
Erika Dreifus – resource for the literary community
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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