OMM (On My Mind) – April 2024 – #1

~ 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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::: Personal Notes :::

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‘25 Journals with Fast Response Times’ (Authors Publish)

Glad to see ONE ART acknowledged, once again, for our speedy response time.

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::: Podcasts :::

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There’s a terrific (fun, insightful, educational) interview with Raymond Hammond on Rattlecast.

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I first became interested in The New Bizaar because I greatly enjoy Cardiff Garcia as a host. He was previously a host on NPR’s Planet Money. This is another show that talks about behavioral economics in a down to earth and fascinating way.

‘Is the Introvert Economy here to stay?’ (The New Bizaar) – (fairly short episode: 38 min.)

“Run towards any new skill that you can learn.”

“When you’re young, make sure you have lots of friends who are older; when you’re older, make sure you have lots of friends who are younger.”

“70 may be the new 50, but 80 is still 80.” (Comment related to U.S. Dept. of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics predications 2022-3032, released 9/6/23). Predictably, home health care, senior care, and related industries are going to thrive as boomers enter their 80s.

Also, data scientists. Plus, “operations research analysts”, statisticians, actuaries, STEM-related occupations.

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::: Music :::

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Benefit album for abortion access (Pitchfork)

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‘What Artistic Nods Are Behind Beyoncé’s Striking New Album Cover?’ (artnet)

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::: The Literary Community & Beyond :::

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The End of an Era

Small Press Distribution: 1969 – 2024

The details are coming out… I was not aware that SPD already had quite so many serious issues and allegations against them for mistreatment of employees. It now comes as less of a surprise that they are shuttering.

I remember SPD sending out snail mail paper magazines with new books from small presses. I cannot recall exactly when this ended but it was a long time ago. Occasionally, in recent years, I’ve contacted someone I saw on SPD’s newsletter about them making it onto the monthly bestseller list (fully knowing that small press sales are very low). It’s important to find things to feel good about in the day to day of our fractured and frightening reality. I digress.

I’ve found it interesting, over the years, to see which presses had publications listed on SPD. The question now is whether another middleman will take up the position. Maybe bookshop.org? That might be wishful thinking.

Many presses have posted that the abrupt SPD shutdown is likely to result in devastating losses for them. This is a good time to support small presses you appreciate by buying a book or three.

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Post-Guernica

‘The Heart Is Capable of Grieving for Two Peoples at Once’ (The New Republic)

“I’m determined to retain my humanity.”

Chen makes similar statements throughout this short interview with The New Republic.

It’s evident this is a good-hearted person.

(I first learned about this essay on Erika Dreifus’ substack)

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‘Journal editors are resigning en masse: what do these group exits achieve?’ (Nature)

#NotJustLitMags

“Abels and his colleagues plan to form a new journal, under a diamond open-access model in which there are no fees for authors or readers, hosted by the Open Library of Humanities at Birkbeck, University of London. He says that the editors were galvanized to resign by earlier resignations, but adds that those tempted to resign should look beyond using the move as a protest. They should focus instead on finding a home for a new journal and the academic community. Smith agrees: “I think of our move as being more than just ‘protest’, which implies that we academics lack the power to change the publication system directly.” Such change can be achieved, Smith says, by “starting new journals that are open, not-for-profit, and have high academic standards”.”

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“75% of reading periods for first books exclude poets who can’t afford to pay.” (Emily Stoddard)

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Personal Reading Recs Over Algorithms! (LitHub)

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‘Do Audiobooks Count As Reading? Why Is BookTok Against Them?’ (The Zillennial Zine)

Audiobooks certainly count.

There’s a learning curve with audiobooks that, I suspect, prevents some from getting into them. I listened to loads of audiobooks when I had a decent length commute for a number of years. Dog walks are another good opportunity. Something about liminal spaces seems to align well with audiobook listening.

On a light note, I can’t help but call attention to this humorous line from the article about the wide range of physical book pricing:

“Books also cost a lot of money, a single book can range from thirteen to fifteen dollars.”

Well golly.

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The National Book Foundation’s 5 Under 35 (Vulture)

Charles Baxter on why he picked Antonia Angress’ ‘Sirens & Muses’:

“I felt that if Jane Austen had ever gone to a contemporary art school and had been hip to the ways of the contemporary world, this is the kind of book she might have written. As in Jane Austen, it has a young, slightly naive young woman who becomes wise in the ways of the world, and, as in Jane Austen, you’re very conscious that you’re reading a book of social class. It is a beautifully constructed novel with four major points of view, and it’s also very expertly plotted. The book is very smart about the way that art, the making of art and sexual desire are not separate. It fits into our landscape in the following way: Every generation has to reformulate for itself what art is or even whether there still is such a thing as art and it has to formulate for itself, what is desirable. This book approaches that issue head on.”

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Richard Serra, Verb List. 1967–68. (Austin Kleon)

MOMA on the Verb List

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::: Health & Wellness :::

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‘Ready or not, AI chatbots are here to help with Gen Z’s mental health struggles’ (AP News)

“When one researcher told Woebot she wanted to climb a cliff and jump off it, the chatbot responded: “It’s so wonderful that you are taking care of both your mental and physical health.” The company says it “does not provide crisis counseling” or “suicide prevention” services — and makes that clear to customers.”

“The industry argument is simple: Chatbots are free, available 24/7 and don’t come with the stigma that keeps some people away from therapy.”

“But there’s limited data that they actually improve mental health. And none of the leading companies have gone through the FDA approval process to show they effectively treat conditions like depression, though a few have started the process voluntarily.”

“Still, chatbots are already playing a role due to an ongoing shortage of mental health professionals.”

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‘Pregnancy advances your ‘biological’ age — but giving birth turns it back’ (Nature)

The body remains fascinating.

I wonder, now, if this is true of non-human animals—particularly mammals.

How does being “raised in captivity” affect biological aging? This could be studied in zoos…

This could also be studied across a wide array of human cultural norms surrounding pregnancy, treatment of women (especially pregnant persons).

Any news about even mildly taboo subjects that relate to women opens a window into wonder as we (as a society) remain so close-minded about conversations relating to women’s health and changes in the body as women age.

Sure, if you’d like, I’m open to respectful conversations about gender essentialism.

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‘There's a way to get healthier without even going to a gym. It's called NEAT’ (NPR, July 2023)

It’s been a minute.

How does NEAT sound now?

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‘When Your Vision and Hearing Decline with Age’ (Flowing Data)

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‘Scientists identified three big risk factors for dementia.’ (The Washington Post)

“Diabetes, air pollution and drinking alcohol, a new study found. Each had an effect that is about twice as much as the other leading risk factors.”

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::: Small Explorations & Deep Dives :::

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Do you love accents & dialects? I sure do. I find them fascinating.

‘A Brief History of the United States’ Accents and Dialects’ (Smithsonian)

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Perhaps most striking here is how far we’ve come from “yellow journalism” to the current state of play.

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Wild bird gestures “after you” (The University of Tokyo)

If future studies suggest this truly is the case, this is fairly mind-blowing.

“The researchers say that this discovery challenges the previous belief that gestural communication is prominent only in humans and great apes, significantly advancing our understanding of visual communication in birds.”

“There is a hypothesis that walking on two legs allowed humans to maintain an upright posture, freeing up their hands for greater mobility, which in turn contributed to the evolution of gestures. Similarly, when birds perch on branches, their wings become free, which we think may facilitate the development of gestural communication”

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‘Florida's DeSantis signs one of the country's most restrictive social media bans for minors’ (AP News)

There’s a lot to unpack here.

First, let’s note that we’re dealing with DeSantis and his admin. Second, I’d like to call attention to the fact that DeSantis’ messaging seems… inconsistent… to say the least. What are his priorities again?

There’s something to say for making a statement about the risks of social media use and overuse for minors. Immediately, you can see all the problems. For one thing, how is this enforceable? In short, it’s not.

Parental consent. A major problem is that this is government taking a big step (many would say “overstep”) into the decisions that are typically made by parents.

Misdirection? Or, perhaps, a question of who are the real stakeholders? The issue here should be a battle with Big Tech about predatory behavior against minors. Putting weight on Big Tech in an attempt to strongarm them into change isn’t a terrible idea in this situation. We are, in fact, dealing with a real problem on our hands. This is not just “attention economy”. This is real people (children no less) being taken advantage of and wasting their lives in a simulacra (I’m thinking of Baudrillard-esque ideas here).

In short, this feels like attention grabbing displays that have become par for the course in modern far-right GOP shenanigans. It would be nice if this felt like a real conversation starter on a topic in a serious way… but most likely that’s not the case.

Let’s keep in mind this is the same guy touting book bans and “Don’t Say Gay” campaigns.

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Not China, Not Russia

About 5% of Americans say that America is its own greatest enemy. (Gallup)

This is the highest percentage on record.

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‘Trump’s tariff plan would cost families $1,500 a year, Democratic group finds’ (Semafor)

‘Former President Donald Trump’s idea to implement a 10% tariff on all imported goods would spike prices by as much as $1,500 annually for American families, according to a new analysis from a top Democrat-aligned group first shared with Semafor.’

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‘The Oklahoma Medical Examiner’s Office Has Released Its Final Report on Nex Benedict’s Death’ (them)

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In class news…

‘The wealth of the 1% just hit a record $44 trillion’ (CNBC)

“Since 2020, the wealth of the top 1% has increased by nearly $15 trillion, or 49%.”

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Questions about the evolving state of tipping culture continue… (NPR)

Recommendations include noting how employees are compensated in your state for certain positions. Let’s just assume you’re not going to know this.

I tip between 22-25% almost always. Let’s call it tipping adjusted for inflation.

We should all be aware that wage growth has been stagnant since the 1970s. It’s not at all aligned with the increase in costs of living. We continue to fail to update the original concept of the poverty level… Based on 2022 data, nowadays, people spend between 25-30% of their income on housing. This is all just stuff to keep in mind when you’re deciding to part ways with a few extra dollars when dining out or throwing a few dollars in the tip jar.

It's also important to keep in mind the old adage about the rich getting richer. Why? Well, often people say it’s basically because they are less generous. This is not always the case. Still, it’s often cited that people with less money are the ones who are more generous and give greater sums of their overall “wealth” to charitable sources.

The poor help the poor. This speaks volumes about our culture. The poor understand the poor. The so-called middle class want to distance themselves from the working class and those living in Western poverty (in developed countries). (Abject poverty tends to present differently for many reasons.)

Does all this really relate to tipping culture? I think so.

There are a lot of stakeholders in play.

When you go out, maybe you’re thinking about “treating yourself” in some capacity. After all, we live in a “self care” oriented culture in which therapy speak has been [often foolishly] taken outside the counselor’s office.

If you’re in self-care mode you’re might not be thinking as hard about the people who are providing you with services. I’m not blaming people for wanting to do nice things for themselves, by the way. I’m simply encouraging the importance of keeping in mind that there are so many people who we engage with when we leave our front door that are integral parts of making our life what it is. All those people deserve fair compensation for making our lives a little easier and more enjoyable.

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::: News of the Weird :::

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Florida Raccoon Wins 2024 Bunny Competition

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Clickbait: ‘Watch Beavers Parachute From Planes in Footage From 1948’ (Mental Floss)

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