SC Weekly – March 2025 – #5
~ 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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Life goes on.
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::: ONE ART :::
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Shout-out to parents that engage with their adult children's artwork!
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Upcoming Reading!
We’re fast approaching National Poetry Month. ONE ART has the honor of hosting Kari Gunter-Seymour, Amit Majmudar, and Chad Frame as Featured Readers on Sunday, April 6.
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Upcoming workshop!
ONE ART is hosting an upcoming workshop with Tresha Faye Haefner on 4/10.
Learn more about Tresha and her work with The Poetry Salon.
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::: The Literary Community & Beyond :::
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TRAFFIC JAM TRYING TO REACH THE “FIGHT OLIGARCHY TOUR” by Susan Vespoli
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Vermeer
by Wislawa Szymborska
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::: Podcasts :::
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A must-listen:
No More Grind: How to Finally Rest with Tricia Hersey (Best Of)
(We Can Do Hard Things)
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::: Music :::
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New release!
March 28 - Lucy Dacus: Forever Is a Feeling
It’s a good album. Much better than some reviews would have you believe.
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‘Which Countries Have the Most Unique Taste in Music? A Statistical Analysis’ (Stat Significant)
Oh man… I love how this devolves into this “Dumb American” traveling grievance. This writer and I have a lot in common…
Traveling can be hard, especially when it comes to navigating public transit. Each country has its own system with idiosyncratic processes ready-made to confound foreign travelers. In these moments of misunderstanding, my friends and I typically resort to a contemptible fallback persona known as the "Dumb American."”
Let's say you bought the wrong tickets for an Italian train (paying more money in the process). The ticket-taker sees your error, ready to scold you for your ignorance until they realize they're dealing with Dumb American. You shake your head and gaze at the ticker-taker with your bewildered American eyes. In this moment, they know:
You only speak English—because of course you do.
Despite being a visitor with no understanding of local customs or language, this ignorance is coupled with a sense of misplaced entitlement.
Americans love to speak to someone's manager, even if they don't know what the manager is saying.
“My second reaction saw me go full Dumb American: "How could everyone in the bar know this song but not me? All global culture passes through America; how could this track have bypassed the United States—land of Creed and Jason Derulo?"”
“Throughout this analysis, I kept returning to one central question: how much agency does a country like Hungary have in fostering a thriving local music scene and shaping the tastes of its bar patrons? Can a robust domestic industry flourish when audiences are already captivated by global music stars? Or can you only capitalize on an existing distaste for American rap and Korean pop? How do you make Hungarian DJs play Hungarian music?”
There is much more to this piece and it’s all fascinating.
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::: Health & Wellness :::
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‘This Harlem pastor fights mental health stigma — and shares his own struggles’ (NPR)
Thanks to Louisa for recommending this article.
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Are you cleaning your water bottle enough? (BBC)
Great quote:
"Poo-associated bacteria, such as E. coli, can come from our hands and end up on our lips if we're not good at toilet hygiene," she says.
In case you’ve forgotten… the human mouth is pretty gross. This is an added layer to the ye olde journalistic saying: It’s not a story if a dog bites a man. But “Man Bites Dog” is a story.
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The Washington Post reports:
What you eat in your 40s, 50s and 60s may affect how healthy you are at age 70.
How we know: A 30-year study of more than 100,000 adults found those who ate more plant-based foods and fewer ultra-processed foods had a better chance of healthy aging.
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Some places that may be a little less fun to live if you have allergies/asthma.
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::: The Trump Regime :::
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Regarding Signalgate…
The safety and treatment of The Atlantic editor will say something about where the U.S. stands in relation to Russia with regards to political opposition.
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‘I’m the Canadian who was detained by Ice for two weeks. It felt like I had been kidnapped’ (Guardian)
I have a lot of thoughts. I almost posted something as soon as I read this… but I don’t want to be alarmist.
I will say that I recommend that even U.S. citizens have their documentation readily available just in case. This includes a passport (if you don’t have one and can afford to get one, I’d consider doing so sooner rather than later), your birth certificate, your social security card, your driver’s license or state ID. It would be good to have at least two forms of identification available.
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‘The new definition of antisemitism is transforming America – and serving a Christian nationalist plan’ (Guardian)
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~ Humor Break ~
The Elements of Style, 2025
by Eli Grober
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Fight back.
Make Libraries Great Again.
“Getting a library card and frequently visiting the institution will prove there is a need for it.”
Supply and demand.
Borrow all sorts of stuff.
Attend community events.
Donate books.
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‘Alien Enemies Act’ (Joyce Vance)
World we live in (WWLI)
"Judge Patricia Millett concluded, “Nazis got better treatment.” She said that at least suspected Nazis had hearing boards before they were deported."
Insane statement, but real. This is the situation. People who are neo-Nazis are getting better treatment as we speak.
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‘Social Security is one of the most efficient programs in the country—period’ (How We Fight Back)
“A Ponzi scheme is fraud. Social Security isn’t. Workers pay into it with every paycheck, and when they retire or need it, they get the benefits they earned. It’s transparent, backed by law, and has delivered every dollar it promised for nearly 90 years.”
“The real scam? Billionaires like Trump and Musk dodging their fair share in taxes. A truck driver and a billionaire currently pay the same amount in Social Security taxes.”
“But if the ultra-wealthy paid the same percentage as the rest of us? Social Security would be fully funded for the next 75 years—with room to boost benefits.”
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[from] Vox ‘Future Perfect’ series:
Kelsey Piper, writes —
“Abundance is a vision of the future of big government, and right now every bit of news I see out of the White House makes me grateful for limits on government.”
“I think that if the Trump administration had more state capacity, things would be worse — and I think that any progressive administration rebuilding in the aftermath of Trump should count among the failures that brought us to this stage the unwillingness to limit state power as well as the unwillingness to effectively use it.”
“Let’s figure out how to build, absolutely. But let’s only give the state power we’ll be glad it has when our enemies are wielding it.”
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Abundance is also the new book by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson that is getting quite a bit of buzz.
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“According to some estimates, Donald Trump’s defunding of USAID alone has cost more than 10,000 human beings their lives. The election of literally any Democrat last November would have averted those deaths.” (Vox)
Plus, discussion on how leaning moderate does not necessarily work. Case-by-case scenario.
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::: Small Explorations & Deep Dives :::
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Satisfying read:
‘The secret behind Italy’s rarest pasta’ (BBC)
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‘The Most Populous Countries by the Year 2100’
This is what the Pronatalists are afraid of…
They’re afraid because population has some relation to power on the world’s stage.
But that’s not always the case.
I have not heard talk of the DRC or Ethiopia becoming superpowers, maybe in part due to structural problems. Nigeria, on the other hand, is expected to rise in power by 2050.
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Where the Minimum Wage is Higher Than the Living Wage
“Only 26 out of 173 countries have a minimum wage that exceeds the living wage.”
“The majority of countries where the minimum wage is sufficient to ensure a decent standard of living are in Europe.”
“Luxembourg has the highest minimum wage at $16.54.”
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World we live in (WWLI)
Movies can now be based on Reddit threads.
Somehow, not a new phenomenon.
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“I just don’t want to have to shower with Nazis.” – Financial Times
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Ranked: The Most Reliable Car Brands in 2025
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‘Immigrants in the US Paid $651.9B in Taxes in 2023 — That Big Contribution Could Be in Trouble Because of Deportations’ (The Average Joe)
“Immigrants paid $651.9B in taxes in 2023, but with rising anxiety around deportation threats, that large contribution could soon drop — leaving a gaping hole in government revenues.”
“Undocumented immigrants alone paid a total of $96.7B in federal, state, and local taxes in 2022, with experts warning that increased deportation fears could slash their tax compliance rate from the current 60% to as low as 30% — potentially costing over $28B annually.”
“Washington state’s immigrant population contributed nearly $23B in taxes in 2023 — with undocumented immigrants accounting for ~$3B of that total despite being ineligible for many government benefits, including unemployment insurance.”
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Top Occupations with highest share of immigrant workers in the U.S. (The Average Joe)
Manicurists / Pedicurists – 74.1%
Graders / Sorters of agricultural products – 64.7%
Drywall installers, ceiling tile installers, and tapers – 61%
Plasterers and stucco masons – 57.7%
Taxi drivers – 56.5%
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US consumer confidence tumbles for the 4th consecutive month to a 12-year low
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pejorism – noun: The belief that the world is becoming worse.
(A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg)
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Foreign Travelers Snubbing U.S. (Morning Brew)
“That’s a problem for US businesses that rely on Canadian dollars. A 10% reduction in travel from Canada could cost the US economy $2 billion and 14,000 jobs, per the US Travel Association. Destinations like Palm Beach County, Florida—which got ~40% of its international visitors from Canada last year—and cities near the border like Buffalo could be hit hard.”
“And it’s not just Canadians: Tourism Economics projected that US-bound international travel would drop ~5% overall this year in the event of a wider trade war, down from its prior prediction of a ~9% rise. It expects foreign tourist spending to drop by $18 billion.”
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Asking for a poem tribute.
“Depending on who you ask, the internet weighs no more than a potato, a strawberry—or something much, much smaller. WIRED investigates.”
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‘Gen Z is falling in love with the charm and 'cringe' of millennials’ (NBC News)
Inevitable.
“Of course, Gen Zers are not the first generation — nor will they be the last — to romanticize the lifestyle of a different era.”
“Christian Guarin, 22, described the 2010s as a more “hopeful time,” which he partially attributed to the country electing and re-electing its first Black president.”
Facts: “to be cringe is to be free.”
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In train news…
‘Robbery on the Nike Express’ (Morning Brew)
“It’s going to be hard imagining a train robbery story without Brad Pitt in it, but you must try. Criminals are increasingly targeting cargo trains from Warren Buffett-owned BNSF in California and Arizona as they head east along Interstate 40.”
“Cargo thefts have spiked. There were 65,000+ thefts in 2024, 40% more than the previous year. Those thefts cost the industry $100+ million, according to the Association of American Railroads.”
“Turns out it’s pretty easy to rob a train. Conductors often don’t even know they are being robbed, as containers can be as far as three miles back. Plus, it’s almost impossible to protect the more than 140,000 miles of tracks across the country used by rail companies.”
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ChatGPT’s new image generator is Ghiblifying everything
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After 50 million miles, Waymos crash a lot less than human drivers (Ars Technica)
Frankly unsurprising.
Have you seen the way people drive?
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