OMM (On My Mind) – April 2024 – #4
~ a curated selection of discoveries ~
::: The Open :::
Dear Reader,
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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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New release!
The ONE ART 2024 Haiku Anthology
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Getting the gears in motion when it comes to fundraising for a 5-year print anthology of ONE ART poems.
ONE ART will be hosting a series of workshops held by prominent educators/workshop leaders to raise funds. More on this soon!
If you’d like to get an early start donating to the cause… You can donate here and mention your donation is specifically for the 5-year anthology.
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I have a poem in this anthology from East Ridge Review.
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A rare number of public appearances in a short period of time:
Louisa and I went to Ona Gritz’s reading at Head House bookshop (downtown Philadelphia). A wonderful interview and reading! Highly encourage getting a copy of Ona’s memoir Everywhere I Look.
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We also attended Plan B Press’ 25 Years of Poetry in Kutztown, PA. The event featured a range of poets. Here’s my book, Meatless, from Plan B Press.
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::: Music :::
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Library of Congress (LOC) ‘National Recording Preservation Board’
“On April 16, 2024, these 25 recordings were added to the National Recording Registry.”
Notably:
“The Cars.” The Cars. (1978) (album) – only now!?
“Ready to Die.” Notorious B.I.G. (1994) (album)
“Dookie.” Green Day. (1994) (album)
“Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” Bobby McFerrin. (1988) (single) – This feels inevitable (for personal reasons I dislike this song)
“This is a Recording.” Lily Tomlin. (1971) (album) – Wow, Lily Tomlin sure has had quite a career.
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“Early on, someone at Caroline said, ‘I hope we sell three thousand Ben Folds Five records!’ ” Robert remembered. “Ben turned to me and said, ‘Three thousand? That’s all?’ It hadn’t dawned on me. We think we’re this great band and we wanna go out and play for the whole world, and they only expect us to sell three thousand records? That was a gut punch. The writing was on the wall.” (LitHub)
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Track Five
Taylor Swift’s new album ‘Sad Poets Diary’ (jokes… I’m a bit of a swiftie for those who don’t already know)… also included the surprise drop of 15 additional tracks—for a total of 31 tracks and a 2 hour 2 minute double album.
“The Tortured Poets Department, Swift’s 11th original studio album, is billed as a concept album exploring the five stages of grief.” (Pitchfork)
“Along with the big names, Swift worked on The Tortured Poets Department with recording engineers Laura Sisk and Jonathan Low, Grammy-winning mixer Serban Ghenea, Wilco drummer Glenn Kotche, string player and arranger Rob Moose, violinist Galya Bisengalieva, pianist Thomas Bartlett (aka Doveman), longtime Post Malone collaborator Louis Bell, the National’s Bryce Dessner, and the non-Antonoff members of Bleachers (Zem Audu, Mikey Freedom Hart, Sean Hutchinson, Michael Riddleberger, and Evan Smith).” (Pitchfork)
I guess I’m a bit of a conspiracy theorist when it comes to whether or not TayTay and Matty Healy actually were dating… I just can’t see it as a “real” (read: serious) relationship… though I do see the potential for Matty chasing her a bit.
If you hop on Instagram you can see images of Taylor decked out in Post Malone’s tattoos.
Back on point, there’s a lot of great collabs on this album and a few tracks that fall kinda flat (read: too easy / Taylor’s already done it) on initial listens.
It’s important to remember that there’s a solid chance Taylor Swift will go down as the greatest poet in modern times. (Think: Bob Dylan of her generation).
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Thanks to Phoebe Bridgers, I discovered Christian Lee Hutson who sounds kinda like a male version of Phoebe… which would be weird if he wasn’t clearly influenced by her (and Elliott Smith) and the fact that Phoebe helped produce his albums. Hutson has toured with Phoebe and boygenius as part of the touring band.
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::: Film :::
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This section isn’t typically here.
But…
I couldn’t resist sharing Simon Pegg & Edgar Wright reflecting on ‘Shaun of the Dead’ 20 years later.
“I think we reached out to David Bowie's publicist, and I heard something secondhand that he was touchy about Labyrinth, so that was a no.”
“Everybody cried that day. We were all emotionally exhausted.”
“I think we need to actively attempt to disappoint our core audience… Can we have another Cornetto film? And it's like, Well no. We've done that now, and we want to do something different, and surprising…”
“The thing that I'm proudest of — and this goes for Hot Fuzz and The World's End, as well — was a very British comedy doing well in the States, and we didn't compromise it for an international audience. People appreciated it more because it was British.”
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‘Pamela Hogan’s ‘The Day Iceland Stood Still,’ About 1975 Women’s Strike, Debuts Trailer (EXCLUSIVE)’ (Variety)
Sounds super interesting!
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::: The Literary Community & Beyond :::
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“Broadly, magical thinking describes the belief that one’s internal thoughts can affect external events.” (LitHub)
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“Fun” fact: I find Modigliani paintings deeply unsettling.
“Friends aspired to create a lasting memento to Modigliani by casting a death mask from his corpse. They nearly botched the job, tearing skin from the face and winding up with a poor likeness.”
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A new children’s book… seemingly designed to teach kids about capitalism.
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Ways people keep the lights on as writers.
‘In Service: Writers on Making Ends Meet in the Service Industry’
So where do most writers earn a living, if not from the fruits of their creative labor? Well, it depends.
“The majority of deals are under $50,000 (“nice” in publishing parlance), and only around 10% of books sell more than 5,000 copies.”
Depressing tales of writers living in poverty… even if it sounds like they have a bit of cash on hand.
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::: Health & Wellness :::
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‘Americans Sleeping Less, More Stressed’ (Gallup)
“A record-high 57% of Americans say they would feel better if they could get more sleep; Americans average a historically low 6.5 hours per night. Stress levels have been rising, especially among young women.”
“Younger women are the most likely of the four major gender-by-age groups to say they frequently experience stress, exceeding men their age by 14 points. They are also 29 points more likely than women 50 and older to report frequent stress.”
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‘These foods don't deserve their bad reputations, dietitians and doctors say’ (NBC News)
The debate about what foods are healthy or unhealthy continue to vacillate.
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::: Small Explorations & Deep Dives :::
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‘Why do some people always get lost? Research suggests that experience may matter more than innate ability when it comes to a sense of direction’
“Several cultural factors were associated with wayfinding skills, they found. People from Nordic countries tended to be slightly better navigators, perhaps because the sport of orienteering, which combines cross-country running and navigation, is popular in those countries."
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Fun. (serious)
What’s the difference between ethics & morals?
“Ethics refers to intelligible principles of right and wrong.”
“Morality refers to right and wrong as a felt sense.”
“One is rational, explicit, and defined by one’s social or professional community; the other is emotional, deep-seated, and dictated by one’s conscience or god.”
“That’s why an immoral act sounds graver than an unethical one: One may get you fired, but the other could land you in hell.”
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‘As his trans daughter struggles, a father pushes past his prejudice. ‘It was like a wake-up’’ (AP)
Sometimes people wake up when it’s their own child. Tragically, that’s not always the case.
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"Asahi, Japan’s biggest brewer, expects that non-alcoholic drinks will generate 50% of its sales by 2040." (Semafor)
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In case WWIII happens… in which case, the stock market is the least of our concerns…
“When it comes to conflict, it's essential to understand that there's no general rule of thumb for how markets will react. There's no such thing as a script to follow, and I can't believe I even have to clarify that.” – Scott Melker
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‘You're Probably 'Fexting' In Your Relationship. Is it Healthy Or Not?’ (HuffPost)
I see this as helpful for professional / business settings as well.
I’m pro-emoji for confirming positive intentions.
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‘Chart: The Declining Value of the U.S. Federal Minimum Wage’ (Visual Capitalist)
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A single atom layer of gold… may have many uses including as a semiconductor.
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‘Whales and dolphins now have legal personhood…’ (The Conversation)
Does this mean they have the right to bear arms?
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TIME’s ‘100 Most Influential People of 2024’ list includes:
Dev Patel (who I love from Aaron Sorkin’s “The Newsroom”)
Jenny Holzer (notable contemporary artist)
James McBride (who recently released a new book)
Elliot Page (who released a memoir of note)
Sofia Coppola (who made “Lost in Translation” – among my all-time favorite films)
Hayao Miyazaki (creator of fantastic worlds in animated film)
Jack Antonoff (one of the best contemporary music producers + I love his band Bleachers)
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Break-dancing is in the Olympics (finally) and I’m stoked!
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Gen Z struggles.
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The clear and present danger of being an enemy of Donald Trump.
“The juror told the judge that so much information about her had become public that her friends and family had begun to ask her if she was one of the jurors. Legal analyst Joyce White Vance noted jurors’ fear for their safety was a concern normally seen only “in a case involving violent organized crime.”” (Letters from an American)
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A somewhat long but important read.
‘I’ve Been at NPR for 25 Years. Here’s How We Lost America’s Trust.’ (The Free Press)
So, NPR is supposed to be an even-handed, unbiased resource. It’s widely accepted that there is at least a slight liberal leaning bias. I would say NPR is slightly left of center. Some of this bias comes in the form of what receives more coverage as opposed to how it is covered. And then, yes, there are instances of coverage where it seems clear the reporters are taking sides.
I, too, stopped listening to NPR after about a decade of serious dedication. Something did shift. Part of this was a move away from radio to podcasts (NPR shows) and the NPR ONE app (which seemed terrible from the get go and never improved in my experience). There are many ways to get the news… so NPR is not the only resource at this point. Reading broadly, you can hope to get out of your silo. That’s a good aim. I’m not down on NPR so much as I’d encourage reading a variety of legitimate (fact-based) resources in order to develop your own informed opinions.
There’s an important point in Berliner’s argument that NPR would do well to get back to a place where people who identify as moderate, independent, or somewhat right-leaning can feel at home engaging with NPR. The level of mistrust is a problem. I’m not suggesting curating material that specifically appeals to the right. I’m suggesting NPR works towards getting back to the center where all sides are more likely to say NPR is a relatively unbiased news outlet.
Much of this is to say that I continue to be extremely worried that people across the political spectrum feel unable to communicate with each other. We can’t go on like this forever.
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::: Google Search Trends :::
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Folks are wondering if cats are allergic to pollen.
Various sources suggest that YES cats can have seasonal allergies.
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Questions about hay fever are trending.
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Google Flights indicates these are the top spots for travel in Summer 2024:
1. London
2. Paris
3. Tokyo
4. Rome
5. New York
6. Cancun
7. Orlando
8. Las Vegas
9. Seattle
10. Athens
11. Los Angeles
12. Miami
13. Barcelona
14. Dublin
15. Fort Lauderdale
16. Honolulu
17. Denver
18. Madrid
19. Boston
20. San Juan
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Top searches for “makeup styles” for March 2024 include “mob wife”
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::: News of the Weird :::
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‘Finally, a Pringles holster for your Crocs’ (Axios)
Oh we definitely needed this. Gotta love an absurd marketing scheme.
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Another one! (shouts DJ Khaled)
‘Heinz Teamed Up With Mattel to Bring Us the Mashup We Didn’t Know We Needed: ‘Barbiecue’ Sauce’ (Food & Wine)
Sounds so gross.
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‘McDonald's new marketing: Billboards that smell like its French fries’ (Business Insider)
Unsettling.
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On April 16th, Dubai got a year’s worth of rain (5.59 inches) in 24 hours.
(Based on average rainfall in a year, which is 3.73 inches.)
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