OMM (On My Mind) – January 2024 – #3
~ a curated selection of discoveries ~
OMM (On My Mind) – January 2024 – #3
~ 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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Yesterday, I was the Featured Poet for a series hosted by Joanne Leva that just celebrated 33 years (!!)
Joanne is an amazing host and her group was a joy to spend the afternoon with.
We talked about submissions (in general) (where I mentioned the most recent episode of The Poetry Space_), the difference between chapbooks and full-length collections (where I recommended listening to the recent episode of The Poetry Space_).
I read a selection of poems. Some from my collection Meatless (Plan B Press) and then a number of newer poems.
We then enjoyed a prompt that I spent quite a bit of time developing over the past few months. This made me realize how I would have figured out a better way to frame this very quickly if it had simply been introduced to a group in real time.
We enjoyed tomato pie from Corropolese which is, some would say, the greatest in the land.
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A [Selected] Reflection on My Work
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Poetry and the Sacred: The Poetics of Joy as a Transformative Pathway Through the World
~ On My Mind with Bracha K. Sharp ~
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Poems of the week (published Mondays)
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::: Podcasts :::
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The Ezra Klein Show – How to Discover Your Own Taste
Loved this episode!!
Planning to read Kyle Chayka’s book Filterworld: How Algorithms Flattened Culture out January 16th.
Confident I’ll be writing reflection on this in the not too distant future.
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::: Music :::
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‘Prince’s Purple Rain heads to Broadway after taking 'the world by storm' decades ago’ (Entertainment Weekly)
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‘The worst song in history, according to Steve Albini’ (Far Out Magazine)
So, I’m actually a sucker for good auto-tune and especially the use of “vocal chop” in songs.
I do see Albini’s overall point though that auto-tune paved the way for people without natural vocal talent to attempt something that otherwise is not in their wheelhouse.
In defense, I’ll put up my admiration of music by A.G. Cook.
Also, I just learned that T-Pain can actually sing.
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::: The Literary Community & Beyond :::
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Poetry NFTs Are Having a Moment (Poets & Writers)
Saw it first in the print issue of P&W and was delighted to see Katie Dozier, Timothy Green and Sasha Stiles name-dropped in the article.
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‘26 Literary Journals Open to Publishing Reprints’ (Authors Publish)
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Courtesy of Emily Stoddard
2024 Poetry Manuscript Opportunities
“This is up-to-date as of January 3, 2024 and will be updated throughout the year. The spreadsheet is sorted by date, and the ongoing (i.e., no deadline) reading periods appear at the bottom of the spreadsheet.” (Emily Stoddard)
Truly a generous offering.
Please consider subscribing to Emily’s substack!
Also, in this post:
Emily asks:
How many hours should a poet have to work to submit?
A different angle on fair exchange: If you live in Michigan like I do and make minimum wage
($10.33 per hour), you’d have to work about three hours (depending on taxes)
to afford just one submission at the average fee.
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“Based on the data I have now, over 60% of the poetry book ecosystem is excluding poets who can’t afford fees.” – Emily Stoddard
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‘Goodreads Members' 76 Most Popular Books of the Past Decade’ (GoodReads)
These are, by no means, aligned with my personal recommendations.
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‘The Landlord's Game: Lizzie Magie and Monopoly's Anti-Capitalist Origins (1903)’ (The Public Domain Review)
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::: Health & Wellness :::
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In Pandemic 2.0 news…
Covid is not over. It’s just not technically a pandemic anymore.
“Covid killed nearly 10,000 people around the world last month.” (The Washington Post)
It’s important to keep in mind that there are other causes of early death that are also very common and some are more avoidable than others.
It’s worth getting a health screening now and again. Part of my “day job”, in recent times, has involved writing about this type of subject matter.
I’m looking at you (men) who do not like going to the doctor— catching causes for concern early can be a lifesaver.
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6-minute listen (NPR)
‘There's a way to get healthier without even going to a gym. It's called NEAT
“It's a simple idea at its core: Inject mobility — ideally whatever gets you walking around — into what would otherwise default into sitting time.”
“The solutions for maximizing NEAT aren't necessarily sexy (although that, too, can burn quite a few calories), but many of them are relatively easy to take up. They often involve choosing to make slightly more effort, rather than choosing convenience.”
Rather sassy for NPR!
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Lots of good ideas:
‘How to Feel a Little Better in 2024’ (Self)
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The following are from Leo B’s “Best of ZenHabits” 2023 list. I like these in particular:
‘We’re Mostly Trying to Escape This Moment’ (ZenHabits)
‘The Wisdom of Non-Effort’ (ZenHabits)
‘How I Get Things Done’ (ZenHabits)
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‘Wearable Airbags Deploy in Milliseconds To Protect the Elderly From Falls’ (MMM)
This is a terrific idea and, frankly, should have been figured out sooner.
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‘Potent psychedelic drug banishes PTSD, small study finds’ (Nature)
“Military veterans with cognitive and psychological problems saw drastic improvements after a dose of ibogaine.”
Anyone heard talk/use/benefits of “ibogaine”?
As noted in the article:
“However, they note that MDMA and psilocybin, which are already in late-stage trials, will be “much better candidates for meeting the needs of this community”. Ibogaine will require years of study to determine its efficacy and safety, Davis says.”
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::: Small Explorations & Deep Dives :::
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‘66 Good News Stories You Didn't Hear About in 2023’ (Future Crunch)
Got a favorite?
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‘Cheapest and Most Expensive Appliances to Run Per Year’ (Money Transfers)
“The US Consumer Product Safety Commission recently announced that they are considering a ban on gas stoves amid new research linking them to childhood asthma. With approximately, 38% of US households relying on gas stoves, this announcement has left many wondering just how much their energy bills could change if regulations made switching to an electric stove necessary.”
We should all know by now that running personal electric heaters (you know, those small plug-in heaters) are a HUGE waste of energy.
The W/D comes as no surprise.
Clearly, there is a reason to invest in efficient Fridge/Freezer equipment. Of course, the usual question is how long do you have to use a product in order to offset having purchased a new one. This is where we get into the single-use plastic bag vs. reuseable tote bag fallacy.
So, I’d been wondering how much the electric kettle(s) were running up our electric bill. Interesting. Worth it, regardless.
Glad to see that the dishwasher is not doing significant harm. Also, given how I wash dishes by hand, probably wasting less water. I’m sure that’s debatable.
I don’t know how much it did but back in the day I was very committed to Care2’s click-to-donate. My understanding is that it’s been gone for about a decade. You could offset the use of your computer’s energy by clicking, in theory, is an example. The world of carbon offsets is, of course, something that has proved murky.
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‘81 Things That Blew Our Minds in 2023’ (The Atlantic)
A few takeaways:
Rice cookers are a work of genius.
Pizza boxes are trash.
You should probably wear a mask while using a toilet.
Yes, everyone has worse allergies now.
Humans are able to get physically better at sports due to a combination of factors including conditioning, training, diet, and lifestyle choices. Essentially, our Western ways of constantly workshopping ourselves and self-optimizing carry over.
A poem is forthcoming using the words “flow” “mother” “fire” “ash”
Beauty products are often a sham… which we already knew
Foxes gonna fox
We still have almost no idea how the human brain works
Surprise?: “Fifteen percent of daily Google searches have never been searched before, according to the company.”
Cars are extremely dangerous
We live on a potato
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‘100 Things that Made My Year’ (Austin Kleon’s Substack)
“How, if you’re lonely, all you have to do is run an errand unwashed in your grubbiest clothes — when you’re out in the world at your least presentable, you’re sure to run into someone you know.”
“How the awful mobbing blue jays alert you that there’s something worth paying attention to nearby.”
Oof. Uncool: “Trying to live peacefully with the squirrels, even though, in my heart, I still despise them.”
Good: “Telling your friends you love them.”
“Cory Doctorow’s term “enshittification,” which explains so much.”
Good: Holiday rituals.
“Playing music at dinner, how it keeps everyone mellow.”
Poetic approach: This lesson from Inside Taco Bell’s Innovation Kitchen: “You can change either the taste or the form… but you can’t change the taste and the form.”
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‘South Korea’s parliament passes landmark ban on production and sales of dog meat’ (AP News)
“Son said many elderly dog farmers are willing to close their farms if proper financial compensation is provided because of the extremely negative public view of their jobs.”
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‘The Quality of Parent-Child Relationships in U.S. Families’ (Gallup)
There’s a whole lot to unpack here.
One stat that stuck out to me is what seems to be a limited effect of parents remaining married vs. a divorce situation insofar as impact on relationships with their child.
I’m not surprised that being ideologically liberal would cause some distance. This makes sense given there’s usually some generation to generation frustrations and liberal-minded children are more likely to butt heads with parents (who are more likely to be slightly more conservative). My guess is the gap closes as the children age and because more likely to move from Left to Center-Left or related.
Interesting to see how a BA is likely to cause some distance but that’s regained if adult children go on to receive a PhD.
Quality of relationship with partner (spouse) of an adult child is something that should be emphasized. Life experience informs me this is a significant factor on how close a person is able to be with their family.
The child being “out of control” seems like a questionable self-reporting data point to me. It’s so subjective… being “out of control” according to a conservative minded parent doesn’t necessarily mean you are a fan of AOC and have a nose piercing. It could mean you’re not heterosexual or are dating someone who is of a different ethnic or religious background. It could simply mean they disapprove of their child’s choice of work.
Income is always going to be an issue. Current theories suggest that a certain level of income does affect quality of life and level of perceived happiness. Having a scarcity mindset as a result of not having enough family resources is something that children are acutely aware of and it has lasting impact.
Parents tend to think young children are cute… even when they are difficult. Humans love baby animals, what can I say? They become a whole lot less cute when they start forming their own opinions and calling you out. As a non-parent, I can only say so much.
Parents: tell me how it really is.
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The blood diamonds saga continues
‘Synthetic diamonds are upending the industry's status quo’ (The Week)
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‘Independent Party ID Tied for High; Democratic ID at New Low’ (Gallup)
43% !?!
“Independents first outnumbered supporters of both major political parties in 1991 and have continued to do so since then, except in several years between 2004 and 2008.”
This is news to me.
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Unrepeatable.
"Last year, mathematicians discovered the “einstein,” a unique shape that can tile a flat surface in a pattern that does not repeat. Do-it-yourselfers have found ingenious ways to create, play and cook with it." (New York Times)
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::: Google Search Trends :::
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Searches for “Vision Boards” are at an all-time high.
Mocktail searches are way up thanks to Dry January
People want to buy “fruit stripe gum” now that it’s been discontinued. This is not a grand loss to society nor is it an exceptional investment opportunity.
People just like searching for the phrase “arctic blast”
A lot of reminders that humans have short memories when it comes to… abstract dangers. My understanding is that this is protective. It’s why our memories are highly fallible. We think we remember a whole lot more than we really do. If a person’s memory is very good, and notably if their memory traces back to early childhood, there’s a high probability that they experienced trauma. Here we circle back around to abstract dangers. People are wondering about avalanches and the differences between snow squalls and hurricanes. The question becomes—which people? Presumably, the people that have rarely encountered these dangers are imminent and part of their semi-regular day to day. Otherwise, they would be highly aware of these threats. People in California (so I’m told) have some idea what you’re supposed to do in the event of an earthquake. Me? I remember something about standing in a doorway. Let’s hope that saves me or somehow there’s enough time to ask an AI chatbot if the basement, closet, roof, bathtub, outside, hiding in my car, or …
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::: Questions :::
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Do you think this is a real story or fake news? (serious)
Why am I just hearing about this now?
The story – A 10-foot tall, 2400 pound primate from 100,000 (to 250,000) years ago, believed to be [mostly] vegetarian. If true, yeah, I can only imagine how much plant matter you need to consume to maintain weight… not a lot of Boost or slabs of tofu back then.
At heart, we are all just giant pandas it seems.
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