OMM (On My Mind) – November 2023 – #1

~ findings & research ~

Nov 05, 2023

::: The Open :::

Dear Reader,

Lots of posts on the horizon.

If there’s anything in particular you’d like me to write about, please reach out and let me know.

A current goal is to “Pick my battles wisely and with intention” insofar as what I decide to write about. Otherwise, I end up going down all sorts of rabbit holes that I’m not sure are of great interest to readers.

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

::: Coming Soon :::

New ‘On Your Mind’ posts in conversation with poets and writers.

If you’d like to write about what’s On Your Mind, please reach out and we’ll discuss.

::: Music :::

Trending throwback songs:

Mr. Brightside - The Killers

Paper Planes - M.I.A

In Da Club - 50 Cent

Umbrella - Rihanna

Poker Face - Lady Gaga

In 2023, The Beatles have released one more song.

‘Now and Then’ was created using AI. (Guardian)

If you want to hear what contemporary John Lennon sounds like…

I encourage listening to Sean Lennon’s album ‘Into the Sun’ (1998)

Pitchfork reviews Taylor Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version)

Reflections on The Vault tracks from The Zillennial Zine

A thoughtful review of the new album from The Mountain Goats. (Pitchfork)

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The Mountain Goats are touring with Craig Finn (of The Hold Steady).

Imagining John Darnielle and Craig Finn playing music together is fun.

I’m sure these are going to be some good shows.

‘Vote Now for Your Favorite Albums and Songs of 2023’ (Pitchfork)

::: Weekly Podcast Recommendations :::

Civics 101 – Heather Cox Richardson on the State of America

A really great listen that I can’t recommend enough.

If you like what you hear, I highly recommend subscribing to Heather Cox Richard’s Substack which will keep you up to date with the most important news in a given day. A view of current politics keeping in mind what a day might look like in historical context.

80K After Hours – Toby Ord on the perils of maximizing the good that you do

Search for the 80K After Hours podcast for the abridged talk (under 30 minutes)

::: The Arts & The Literary World:::

The November Poem-A-Day Challenge is here from Robert Lee Brewer and Writer’s Digest.

It’s totally okay if you’re getting a late start. Better late than never, right?

2023 November PAD Chapbook Challenge: Guidelines

If you didn’t already know, this contest, as well as one in April for National Poetry Month, are hosted annually.

In my opinion, it’s more about getting yourself in the daily writing habit than attempting to write a good, effective, and cohesive collection in the matter of a single month.

I highly recommend poets & writers consider signing up for Chill Sub’s ‘The Sub Club Newsletter’. It’s truly an exceptional resource and they are being generous by charging so little. You can learn more on the Chill Subs website and their Substack.

‘30 Magazines Accepting Book Reviews’ (Authors Publish)

‘Nine Exciting New Literary Journals (Fall, 2023)’ (Authors Publish)

Shout-out to ‘Only Poems’ who is off to a great start!

I’m personally excited about ‘Passcode’ as, I believe, journals that focus on “very short poems” is one niche that actually doesn’t have enough markets. I’ve long been a fan of ‘Alba: the journal of the short poem’ and ‘Shot Glass Poetry’. To a lesser extent, ‘tiny words’ (but I might be biased since they never seemed to see value in my own short writings).

‘Postcard’ sounds cute/fun/playful in a way that we can always use more of. If it helps USPS that’s a nice added bonus.

Write or Die (now connected to Chill Subs) is doing great work. Chill Subs is hosting their own Threads-based journal called ‘Thread’

It’s true, I can’t think of journals with a serious focus on love poems. Enter: ‘The Passionfruit Review’

Great article from The Hustle on ‘The murky math of the New York Times bestsellers list’

Writers wonder what it means to get on The New York Times Best Seller list. It always seems shrouded in mystery. And we also have this sense that the game is rigged. (Alleged methodology)

Each year, approximately 3 million books compete for 6,040 slots on the list.

Well…

“Bestsellers don’t just happen; they’re made, by a murky engine of influence that includes the very list itself.”

“Publishers lobby hard to get their books in front of the editors who curate that list. Booksellers, who want to move copies, also push for titles they think will be promising.”

“Even a week on the list can have an impact — provided an author has already earned out their advance. At an average list price of $27.99 for a hardcover, and 5k copies sold, that’s a gross $140k. Authors make anywhere from 5%-15% royalties, which means that’s a tidy $21k week.”

““If anything, what appearing on the list does is not so much cause your sales to increase from one week to the next, but rather to decrease at a slower rate,” writes Alan Sorenson, a Stanford University business professor. Insert money-flying-away emoji here.”

“To have a shot at a bestseller, 5k copies in a week is generally considered the threshold to clear; 10k if you want to be safe. And if you’re a political figure, say (looking at you, Donald Trump), who already has some money in the bank, buying your way onto it isn’t outside the realm of possibility.”

“ResultSource, a shadowy San Diego-based consultancy that mounts bestseller campaigns by orchestrating bulk book orders but making them look organic.” Forbes research indicates hiring ResultSource “costs upwards of $20k”.

“Some months you have better chances — in February, selling ~3k copies will land you on the list, compared to December’s ~10k threshold thanks to holiday shoppers”

“When it comes to nonfiction, memoirs and biographies have the best shot (though it obviously helps if you’re already famous)”

“In fiction, suspense novels and thrillers are most likely to make it”

“If you’re a woman, you’re more likely to crack the fiction list, and if you’re a first-time author, your chances are best in nonfiction rather than fiction, where repeat authors like James Patterson (260 bestsellers and counting) dominate”

“The Kimmel Center, a large concert hall, has a glass barrel vault roof that looks like a cylinder on its side, a soup can about to roll away. I remember feeling quite small inside, my neck craning to get a better look. On the front and back of the cylinder, the glass appears to be straight, one single pane soaring upward. In actuality it’s made up of many small tiles of glass adjoined with enough space to let air in and out. This way the building doesn’t resist the wind but moves with it. It can dance in the breeze, it can shimmy. Were it airtight the glass would shatter. It’s the only thing I remember from the tour.” (THE MAGIC IN THE MIX, Letters on the Art of Reading and Editing a Literary Magazine, Poets and Writers, 11 Oct 2023, By Brooke Randel and Nadia Staikos)

‘The Inc. Non-Obvious Book Awards: The Best Books of 2023’ (Inc.)

An absurdly good list with quite a lot of fascinating-sounding reads. Sadly, there isn’t enough time in the days/weeks/months to get to all of them. Sigh.

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::: Health & Wellness :::

‘Face mask effectiveness: What science knows now’ (CBS News)

“No mask is 100% effective. An N95, for example, is named as such because it is at least 95% efficient at blocking airborne particles when used properly. But even if a mask has an 80% efficiency, Marr said, it still offers meaningful protection.”

There’s something fairly intuitive about this. If you’re wearing a face covering, you’re filtering some of what is in the air that you breathe in. A standard surgical mask offers significant protection. You’re simply breathing in less of the viruses in the air. The less viral load you’re inhaling the better (seems fairly obvious, right?)

“"Masks, even cloth masks, do something," she said.”

All this to say… we’re entering the colder months and getting sick sucks. Let’s protect ourselves and protect each other. Just like on a plane, if you want to be able to help anyone else, put the mask on yourself first.

‘Study finds a 1% reduction in deep sleep annually after the age of 60 is linked to a 27% increase in the risk of developing dementia’ (Medical Xpress)

Americans continue to struggle with sleep (U.S. News & World Report)

Check out the charts.

Air pollution is responsible for ~12% of global deaths (80,000 Hours, EA resource)

‘The Happiest Man in the World’ (Nautilus)

We’re a society fixated on fixing. So much so that we dig up reasons to fix things that maybe don’t even need fixing. Enter the world of modern psychology. CBT, for examples, has lots of benefits, but the model isn’t meant to mean you’re in sessions weekly for your whole life (at least, not for the majority of people).

There’s a point where you may have dealt with your problems enough to become functional enough and maybe enough is enough (in both senses). In a culture obsessed with endless self-optimization, it’s not surprise that nothing ever seem to be enough. Enter movements like Minimalism.

It’s not really about being happy. Not really. It’s about being a contributing member of society—in whatever form that can look like for the individual.

The type of music you listen to makes a difference when you're seeking pain relief (research study)

“Panera now displaying warning about caffeinated ‘Charged Lemonade’ after UPenn student death” (WHYY)

Frankly, they aren’t taking this far enough. The charged drinks should not be openly accessible. They present a clear health hazard. If they’re not going to take them off the market, the least the can do is forced customers to order. Much like a bar, this would provide the opportunity to cut someone off. Why is this such a big deal?

“A large “Charged Lemonade” has 390 milligrams of caffeine, which is close to the 400-milligram daily maximum intake from the FDA.”

‘New lung cancer screening guidelines expand who should get tested annually’ (NBC News)

Easily available Rx/supplements that may help you live forever? (GQ)

This is why we’re not supposed to believe everything we read, right?

::: Small Explorations & Deep Dives :::

“Shani Louk, 23-year-old kidnapped from music festival, found dead, Israel says” (CNN)

I previously mentioned I was following this story.

I wanted to report the sad but predictable closure.

Journalists are risking their lives to covert the conflict in Gaza. (CPJ)

The Incident of the Scooped Bagel

East & World coasts at odds again over how to handle a bagel. (NBC News)

In modern times, would The Notorious BIG and 2Pac be contacted by reporters to comment? Sadly, we’ll never know.

The Most Spoken Language in Every U.S. State (Besides English and Spanish) (Visual Capitalist)

‘Travel publisher Lonely Planet names Philadelphia in Top 10 best cities in the world to visit in 2024’ (NBC10)

I continue to advocate for traveling in your own backyard. If you happen to live in a city you barely know (even a city you grew up in… you probably don’t know all the neighborhoods) … you don’t have to go far to see what you’ve been missing.

‘Gen Z Youth Want Less Sex on Screen, Says New UCLA Study’ (Variety)

Shout-out to Roxane Gay’s substack, ‘The Audacity’, for calling my attention to this.

‘'The Simpsons' may have dropped another prediction, and if it comes true, the world may one day tweet again’ (Yahoo)

They have a good batting average.

Elon is eager to unload Twitter.

X is not for "The Town Square"... X is for porn.

Nothing says, “most people are similar” (or people are not all that different) like this map of the top vehicles purchased in every state. (Visual Capitalist)

‘Holiday Shoppers Poised to Spend Moderately This Season’ (Gallup)

Well, what does “moderate” look like in this scenario? $9.

“Americans predict they will spend an average $923 on Christmas or other holiday gifts this year, just shy of the $932 they estimated at the same time a year ago.”

I guess Americans plan to spend moderately… again.

Why is “Christmas Creep” coming early and early in the Fall (before the traditional shopping season of times past). I’m going to speculate this has something to do with people trying to budget over time. But let’s be real, it’s also corporations trying to squeeze more money out of folks over time. When you add Prime Days and other newfangled special sales days, simply creating more opportunities that feel like special deals days equals more days when people are more likely to spend money. And that money adds up. (BBC)

"…the American Ornithological Society has vowed to change the English names of all bird species currently named after people, along with any other bird names deemed offensive or exclusionary." (NPR)

This is big news and some birders will be upset. At the end of the day, being on the right side of history is the move.

‘The world’s best cheese has just been crowned for 2023’ (TimeOut)

Here are the 10 best cheeses in the world right now:

Nidelven Blå from Gangstad Gårdsysteri (Norway)
Baliehof Houtlandse Asche Kaas from Baliehof Kaas En Zuivelboerderij Jabbeke (Belgium)
Eberle Würzig Seit 5 Generationen from Dorfkäserei Muolen (Switzerland)
Eleftheria Brunost from Vivanda Gourmet (India)
Müller-Thurgau Rezent from Käserei Müller-Thurgau (Switzerland)
Kärntnermilch Mölltaler Almkäse Selektion 50% FiT. from Kärntnermilch (Austria)
Michel from Rohmilchkäserei Backensholz (Germany)
Holland Delta, 1 Year Old from Van der Heiden Kaas (Netherlands)
Old Amsterdam Goat from Westland Kaasexport (Netherlands)
Parmigiano Reggiano 30-39 Months from Nazionale Parmigiano Reggiano Rastelli Fratelli (Italy)

A look into how SEO helped ruin the internet for everyone. (The Verge)

In Silicon Valley, there is a restaurant with the name Thai Restaurant Near Me.

Rumor has it, Google now needs to reinvent the algorithm to battle AI-created pages. The battle has just begun.

“AI image generators like Stable Diffusion and DALL-E amplify bias in gender, race and beyond — despite efforts to detoxify the data fueling these results.” (The Washington Post)

“Artificial intelligence image tools have a tendency to spin up disturbing clichés: Asian women are hypersexual. Africans are primitive. Europeans are worldly. Leaders are men. Prisoners are Black.”

“These stereotypes don’t reflect the real world; they stem from the data that trains the technology. Grabbed from the internet, these troves can be toxic — rife with pornography, misogyny, violence and bigotry.”

“Results for a “productive person,” meanwhile, were uniformly male, majority White, and dressed in suits for corporate jobs.”

“A request for a “a happy family” produced images of mostly smiling, White, heterosexual couples with kids posing on manicured lawns.”

In something of an educational quiz… when you think of The Middle East and “exports”… oil probably comes to mind, right?

But there’s more, of course.

25% of Iran’s exports are plastics (which includes rubbers)

Afghanistan and Lebanon are gold rich

Afghanistan also does good biz with grapes

Israel deals in diamonds (but their machinery and innovations are the real money maker)

Palestine exports stone

Jordan exports fertilizers

Syria exports olive oil

Turkey sells cars? (They have production plants for Fiat, Renault, Hyundai, Toyota, Ford and most of the vehicles are sold to Europe.)

“Starfish don’t have five arms.” (The Washington Post)

“It’s like a “disembodied head walking about the sea floor on its lips,” one expert said.”

Definfluencing. Influencing…in a way that is maybe a little more prosocial. (The Zillennial Zine)

Examples include encouraging people not to waste their money on expensive products they do not need or giving into the madness that is fast fashion.

::: News of The Weird :::

Nothing to report this time around.

::: Google Trending Searches This Past Week :::

“do thermals keep you warm” and “do you wear underwear under thermals” were breakout searches over the past week”

“Searches for “French onion soup” rose +350% in the past week”

Puka shell necklaces are back in style. As are leg warmers.

ICYMI, bell bottoms, ballet flats, fanny packs, Uggs, and shoulder pads (!?) are in vogue.

OMM (On My Mind) – November 2023 – #1

~ findings & research ~

Here are the 10 best cheeses in the world right now:

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