SC Weekly – July 2025 – #1
~ a curated selection of discoveries ~
::: The Open :::
Dear Reader,
I hope you enjoy this edition of SC Weekly (published on Sundays).
Please consider sharing with a friend who you think may enjoy this newsletter.
Thank you for reading and for your time.
With Gratitude,
~ Mark
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::: Personal Notes :::
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[crickets]
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::: ONE ART :::
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ONE ART's Pride Month Queer Poets Reading (2025)
Recording available on YouTube
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ONE ART is included in this places to submit list by Erica Verrillo:
85 Calls for Submissions in July 2025
See: The Book of Jobs: An Anthology of Poems About Work
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Writing Through Illness
Instructor: Karly Randolph Pitman
Date: Thursday, July 17, 2025
Time: 6:00-8:00pm Eastern
Price: Sliding Scale
Event will be recorded
>>> Register for Karly’s workshop <<<
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Sunday, July 20 — 2pm Eastern
Featured Poets: Alison Luterman, Karen Paul Holmes, Laura Grace Weldon
>>> Tickets Available <<< (Free! Donations appreciated.)
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The Hundred-Line Poem
Instructor: Harriet Levin
Please Note: This is a four-week workshop
Virtual workshop meetings via Zoom
Dates: August 5, 12, 19, and 26 (Tuesdays)
Time: 6:00-8:00pm Eastern
Standard Price: $100
Economic Hardship: $75
>>> Tickets Available <<<
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Visibility and Book Sales: Marketing Your Small Press Book
Instructor: John Sibley Williams
Date: Thursday, August 14
Time: 3:30-6:00pm Eastern
Tickets will be available soon.
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::: The Literary Community & Beyond :::
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‘Q: How do we spot scammy lit mags & presses (part 1)?’
You can see my comments in the comments. Ok, this is partly me saying, “Hey, I’m available to work with on Reedsy.”
If you’re going to self-promote, be shameless.
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::: Podcasts :::
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Is AI Productivity Worth Our Humanity? with Prof. Michael Sandel (Your Undivided Attention)
Sandel is really interesting. I’m planning to learn more about his positions.
Tristan Harris is one of my favorite people. Harris broke away from Tech Bro culture and formed the Center for Humane Technology. Tristan, if you’re reading this, let me know what I can do to help the cause.
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Is America Ready for a Guaranteed Basic Income? (Better Life Lab)
So... apparently Nixon was all about Guaranteed Basic Income and there were tests with wildly positive outcomes decades ago.
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Worked to Death (Know What You See with Brian Lowery)
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The New Unemployment (Better Life Lab)
Old episode but will matter in the age of Trump's new terrible bill and the soon to come massive job losses due to AI disruption and the new industrial age which will involve significant pain for many for years as we try to discover what a new economical vision.
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::: Music :::
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The new Lorde album is good. Just reiterating.
Also, the 20th anniversary re-release of Bleacher’s ‘Strange Desire’ called ‘A Stranger Desire’ (2024) which is lo-fi and very good.
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::: Health & Wellness :::
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Short video on social isolation, loneliness, based on data from the American time use survey.
6 minutes. Worthwhile.
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::: The Trump Regime :::
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GOP controlled congress passed the terrible horrible no good very bad bill.
Let the legal battles commence.
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Trump Sparks Fury After Casually Dropping Antisemitic Slur
Not the worst thing he’s done lately, but the guy reveals himself constantly. I’ve often noted that the people you really have to worry about are the people (read: men) who say “I’m an open book.”
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::: Small Explorations & Deep Dives :::
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Suriname certified malaria-free by WHO
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Do Birds Grieve? (Audubon)
This is debated.
Not finding a clear answer on whether or not birds show signs of frustration (or related) if their nest is destroyed.
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‘Apple Planning to Launch Low-Cost MacBook Powered By iPhone Chip’ (MacRumors)
Sounds useful.
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‘‘I’m just a huge fan’: Justin Vernon of Bon Iver on his love for the Lynx, new partnership’ (MPR)
Great article. Beyond fandom, also about women's empowerment, feminism, social issues.
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‘How My Hair Wore My Bipolar Disorder’ (Allure)
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10 Best Small Towns to Live in the U.S. (Travel + Leisure)
This story achieves the same dilemma as tourism. For tourism, your presence as a tourist tarnishes the authenticity of the sense of place and the experience. Pushed to extremes, you see the Barcelona response (which is really quite tame and reined in). So far as where to live, a small town is unlikely to maintain its charms as a small town once news breaks at a national level that gets people thinking they may want to flock to these towns.
Louisa and I love what Phoenixville has become and it would be sad to see it turn into something unsustainable and watered down.
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I always look forward to these, Mark. Especially your podcast rec's which I frequently steal for my own newsletter...