OMM – September 2024 – #2

~ a curated selection of discoveries ~

::: The Open :::

Dear Reader,

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With Gratitude,

~ Mark

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Please Note:

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::: Personal Notes :::

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Serotonin published three of my mother’s poems.

Sadly, an unknown quantity of my mom’s work was destroyed by water damage.

From the drafts that remained, I’ve been publishing her work posthumously since her tragic death in 2020 when society was in chaos due to the pandemic.

Some of the drafts of my mom’s work were dated. (Writers take note, this helps someone know early drafts and later drafts.) She often worked on poems for years, decades even.

‘The Slender Past’ is an earlier poem written in the 1968-83 era.  

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::: ONE ART :::

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The ONE ART Reading Series is here!

Check out our upcoming readings.

Tickets are not yet available for all events. Please ‘Save the Date’ on your calendar and check back in case event dates/time change.

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In the process of scheduling more workshops            .

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::: Podcasts :::

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1A – Why All Roads Of Inquiry Lead To Wikipedia

This is a really good listen. Discusses the value of Wikipedia in the age of misinformation and disinformation.

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Hidden Brain – Changing Our Mental Maps

Extremely thought-provoking episode.

Discussion of The Default Mode Network (area of the brain) which sounds like the scientific study of David Foster Wallace’s “Default Mode” famously discussed in This is Water. Better hearing DFW read it.

The episode opens with a story. It’s a reminder that humans are storytellers. I felt instantly taken in and found so many ways to connect with the story. This primed me for being interested in the rest of the episode, which was interesting anyway. Norman Farb is quite the storyteller.

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We’re constantly hearing new potential ways that psychological impacts have tangible physical attributes that can be traced in the brain. Here’s yet another new article on the subject.

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::: Music :::

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Well, I’m sure you’ve learned by now that I love me a good chart… and data.

This is a fun Stat Significant post about songs being rediscovered for various reasons.

You’re probably aware of at least a few of these instances.

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::: The Literary Community & Beyond :::

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Important literary community conversation on Becky Tuch’s LitMagNews.

‘Should Facebook posts count as "previously published"?’

Here’s my comment:

This topic is beginning to remind me of ongoing debates between Constitutionalists and pragmatic individuals living in the here and now. The concept we associate with “previously published” was created in a time pre-social media. The concept of “previously published” that we tend to think about was devised in a time of snail mail submissions to a small number of elite print journals. We now have thousands of lit mags and vast numbers of them are online only.

Another issue I see involves sharing. Art is meant to be shared. There is a kind of cruelty in telling artists they cannot share their work with others for fear of being unable to share this work in a more official capacity later. There’s an added audacity when artists are not going to be paid to have their work curated or paid a trivial “token” amount.

The reason ONE ART does not accept work that has previously appeared in other lit mags/books (which is the only criteria for previously published ONE ART concerns itself with) is that it would open the floodgates (as in I’d be completely overwhelmed by submissions). It would also take away space from the opportunity to showcase new work. But “new” is in question here as well. Some poets, for example, sit on poems for years before sending them out for publication. Some writers work on a story for years before they send it out or find a publisher.

So much depends on subjectivity.

Let’s focus on Facebook posts for a moment. No. The answer is “No.” They are not considered previously published.

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Book Ban Map

“Find the areas hit hardest by book bans”

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Is it poetry or is it propaganda?

No punches pulled in this episode of The Poetry Space_

I have a lot of my own thoughts on the matter.

Let’s start with my standard statement: If someone calls it a poem, then it is a poem.

After listening to this episode and reflecting a bit… well, it seems I simply like some propaganda.

Maybe a visual art example can explain my thoughts?

Shepard Fairey made an official Harris poster much like he did for Obama.

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‘Kim Addonizio: 'It's a curse to say that somebody is confessional'’ (Guardian)

Short interview. Fun read.

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‘The importance of revisiting notebooks’ (Austin Kleon)

Might work for some. High levels of neuroticism required?

The basic premise of revisiting your notes is a good idea… see where you’ve been, changes, growth (?), and try to figure out where you are now, and where you might be headed.

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Discussion of Ireland’s thriving literary scene. (Guardian)

Includes talk of lit mags!

“Key factors include an arts council that cares about literature and a culture of intergenerational benevolence.”

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This debacle really broke bananas in the literary community.

‘NaNoWriMo Organizers Said It Was Classist and Ableist to Condemn AI. All Hell Broke Loose’ (Wired)

‘NaNoWriMo defends writing with AI and pisses off the whole internet.’ (LitHub)

New battleground. Swords up.

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‘18-year-old artist Veronika Kozhushko killed in Russian airstrike on Kharkiv’ (The Art Newspaper)

Actual battleground.

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::: Health & Wellness :::

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On Naps

“Experts say short naps don’t interfere with nighttime sleep, as long as they’re not too late in the day. Aim for taking a nap around 6 or 7 hours after waking up, and try to nap at the same time every day.”

“I’d say to those people who really don’t like to nap, ‘Listen to your body.’”

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‘No Plans This Weekend? Get Out of Town — It’s Good for You’ (Nice News)

Why?

Can boost creativity & productivity.

Improves your mood.

Something to look forward to.

Good for relationships.

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Sweden (and France) have come out with advisories for how much screen time is appropriate for children of different ages. (Guardian)

Optimistic for the older groups barring a massive societal shift in expectations about being available that have led to the constantly online issue.

"We've created a world in which online connection has become primary. Especially for younger generations. And yet, in that world, anytime two people connect, the only way it's financed is through a sneaky third person who's paying to manipulate those two people." - Tristan Harris

There was a time… not all that long ago… when it was illegal to advertise to children (not that it completely stopped corporations from doing so)… and then social media and new tech innovations (apps and such) made this much more difficult to address in a legal sense thereby enabling predatory behavior. Developers also got too good at making these platforms addictive through gamification (and other nefarious/insidious tactics). And so we find ourselves where we are today. As usual, we are own worst enemy. Walking this back is going to be difficult… but it’ll be worth it. We need to buy back a world that isn’t us bending to the ever-shifting frameworks devised by technocrats.

"The average person checks their phone 150 times a day. Why do we do this? Are we making 150 conscious choices? One major reason why is the #1 psychological ingredient in slot machines: intermittent variable rewards.” - Tristan Harris

"By shaping the menus we pick from, technology hijacks the way we perceive our choices and replaces them with new ones. But the closer we pay attention to the options we’re given, the more we’ll notice when they don’t actually align with our true needs." - Tristan Harris

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“E-cigarette use among U.S. middle and high school students has declined nearly 70% since its peak in 2019, federal officials said. “(WaPo)

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‘Neuroscientists uncover serotonin's role in resilience’ (Medical Xpress)

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“The average American now eats ~42 pounds of cheese a year, an amount that exceeds butter, ice cream, and yogurt combined, according to Bloomberg.”

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::: Small Explorations & Deep Dives :::

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Science Alert

‘Paper types ranked by likelihood of paper cuts’ (phys.org)

Mid-thickness… such as: printer paper, newspaper, Post-It notes.

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Talk about getting rid of the U.S. penny continues…

“Unfortunately, one penny costs more than three pennies (3.07 cents at last count) to make and distribute!” (NYT)

Fun fact: “Since it [the U.S. mint] first began issuing 1-cent coins in 1793, the United States has produced about half a trillion of them — far more than the number of stars in the Milky Way. Even if we get rid of the penny, there will be plenty to go around forever.

Personally, I’m convinced we can get rid of the nickel and the dime as well. I know it’ll mess up register drawers… and, take note, I’m not in favor of a cashless society. At this point though, nothing under a quarter can do much… I’d love to hear from an economist why my idea is a nonstarter.

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‘German far-right party wins a state election for the first time since the Nazis’ (NBC News)

Terrifying.

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Exciting Times in Western Maryland

I used to drive through Cumberland, Maryland on my trips from West Virginia to Pennsylvania. It looks like a quaint town. I got a pretty good vibe. I stopped one time and discovered they still had a video rental store in the late 2010s.

Recent news making headlines is that Cumberland is paying people up to $20,000 to move there.

Western Maryland seems pretty similar to Western Pennsylvania. Sleepy towns that used to have industry and now have little going on. That being said, Cumberland is a 20 minute drive from Frostburg, MD which is a pretty nice place where I happen to know quite a few poets. Frostburg is home of Frostburg State University (the other FSU) and the annual Indie Lit Festival. Interested? The festival is later this month!

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‘The citation black market: schemes selling fake references alarm scientists’ (Nature)

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Ghost orchid spotted in the wild.

Time to rewatch Adaptation.

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Midday commutes are the new normal.

Increasingly, people are working 10am-3pm or 10-4pm shifts.

This, in turn, alters rush hour.

I’ve noted in years past that rush hour seemed to be starting earlier and earlier… though, I believe that was before this newer phenomenon of midday commutes.

Apparently, typical morning commutes are considered 6-10am. By 3pm, we’re already talking about evening commutes.

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Phoenix (Arizona) has had 100 consecutive days of 100°… and counting.

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People are traveling a lot.

You may have heard the term “revenge travel” thrown around.

In any case, in 2024, about $1 out of every $10 is being spent on travel.

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‘Nearly 1 in 10 moms regret the name they chose for their baby, according to survey’ (CBS)

Inevitably, this would have something to do with everyone searching for baby names… in the algorithm-centric filterworld that we live in… this means we’ve all being fed the same info… and even before the “new internet age” lists of popular baby names existed… and people tend to gravitate towards what others are doing… and, as with all things, some of what is popular at once instance in time is rather fleeting…

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‘You Can Make a Bee Watering Station with a Bowl of Marbles’ (Taste of Home)

Just learned about this… from the comments section on a Facebook post of all places. Slow clap for social media, I suppose. Anyways, very cool concept. Didn’t know bees would want or need this.

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‘Extinct Guam Kingfisher Readying For Release On Remote Pacific Island’ (Forbes)

“The Guam kingfisher has been extinct in the wild for almost 40 years but thanks to an intense international conservation effort, this species is now poised on the brink of being released back into the wild.”

Shout-out to my brother, Mike, for sharing this article with me. He knows I’m an amateur birder.

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‘China ended its international adoption program’ (WSJ)

“People from other countries will no longer be allowed to adopt Chinese children unless they’re relatives…”

The program started at the peak of China’s overpopulation concerns. Now, China is concerned about falling birth rates.

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An elderly Romanian woman unknowingly used one of the world's most precious amber nuggets as her doorstop for decades.

Yeesh. I imagine her life would have improved if she had been able to sell this earlier in life.

I can see a poem written about this. Just sayin.

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J.D. Vance’s response to yet another tragic school shooting is: “I don’t like that this is a fact of life.” To be clear, it is not a “fact of life.” We can change this. We can change this very quickly through legislation.

(CNN)

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>>> Guns and the problem with "It's about mental health." (The Danged) <<<

An essay by Dale Wisely, Editor of Right Hand Pointing (and Ambidextrous Bloodhound publications)

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::: Google Search Trends :::

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Top searched issues in key swing states

August 2024 data

US overall

1.     Social security

2.     Crime

3.     Health Care

4.     Unemployment

5.     Economy

6.     Immigration

7.     Abortion

8.     Voter registration

9.     Minimum wage

10.  Race

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::: News of the Weird :::

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‘The dye in Doritos can make mice transparent’ (PopSci)

“In the short term, it’s a research tool,” says Rowlands, who envisions great strides coming from the finding soon: Optical imaging of a complete mouse brain, for instance. “If that’s not a paper [within a year], I’ll eat my hat.”

Ok, so it’s only weird depending on the spin…

Nature addresses the findings in a more direct manner—

“A tissue containing fluids and lipids becomes transparent when the dye is added, because the light refraction of fluids matches that of lipids.”

“The technique can make tissues transparent only to a depth of around 3 millimetres, so it is currently of limited practical use for thicker tissues and larger animals.”

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Twin moments. Always fascinating.

‘Brother and sister both win $25,000 a year for life prize in Massachusetts lottery drawing’ (CBS)

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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

** Want to subscribe? Get a discount using this ONE ART exclusive affiliate link.

Becky Tuch’s LitMagNews – literary community news & essential resource

Trish Hopkinson – resource for the literary community

Erika Dreifus – resource for the literary community

C. Hope Clark’s Funds for Writers –weekly email newsletter contains invaluable short essays

Jane Friedman – blog, email newsletter, 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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