SC Weekly – May 2025 – #2
~ 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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The Cover Reveal (and pre-order link) for my new poetry collection Take Care – forthcoming from Moon Tide Press.
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::: ONE ART :::
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Sad to learn we have lost Martha Silano
It’s brutal to add names to ONE ART’s In Memoriam page.
Here’s a poem by Martha, ‘Self-Elegies’, which includes a suggestion for where to donate in honor of her passing.
We were no doubt birds of a related feather.
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::: The Literary Community & Beyond :::
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Essential read:
‘The Rise of the Submission Industrial Complex: Chill Subs’ Benjamin Davis Looks into the Economics of Submission Fees’ (LitHub)
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The following is from a Poets & Writers email newsletter:
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‘On the Latest Threat to Literary Culture’s Fragile Ecosystem: Donald Trump’ (LitHub)
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Gotta smile through the pain…
‘National Endowment For The Arts Lays Off 30,000 Muses’ (The Onion)
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Improvement
by Danusha Laméris
[on] Poetry Town by George Bilgere
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Check out more from Poetry Town
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::: Podcasts :::
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What's Left? with Malcolm Harris
Harris offers an interesting perspective.
His new book and interviews, in part, responds to alternative strategies such as those posited by Ezra Klein & Derek Thompson in their hyped new book Abundance (which Harris notes offers more of a Libertarian approach).
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What if we get climate solutions right? (w/ Ayana Elizabeth Johnson)
Worth a listen.
Not as satisfying as sitting with the book itself but you'll get a sense of voice and tone.
Note: Johnson’s book was among my favorite reads last year.
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Flexibility in your thinking — active processing — critical thinking, creative thinking — this is all related to what Stay Curious is all about. It's a way of moving through the world. In all seriousness, it's a mindset. It's about presence. It's about reflective thinking and keen awareness as you approach each new moment.
‘The science of ideology’
The Gray Area with Sean Illing
“What do you do when you’re faced with evidence that challenges your ideology? Do you engage with that new information? Are you willing to change your mind about your most deeply held beliefs? Are you pre-disposed to be more rigid or more flexible in your thinking? That’s what political psychologist and neuroscientist Leor Zmigrod wants to know. In her new book, The Ideological Brain, she examines the connection between our biology, our psychology, and our political beliefs. In today’s episode, Leor speaks with Sean about rigid vs. flexible thinking, how our biology and ideology influence each other, and the conditions under which our ideology is more likely to become extreme.”
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Fascinating— especially in relation to the Ideology book/podcast episode on The Gray Area
Anna Kornbluh, "Immediacy: Or, The Style of Too Late Capitalism" (Verso, 2024)
“What is the status of art and culture in a world dominated by apps, algorithms, and influencers? Anna Kornbluh’s newest book Immediacy, Or the Style of Too Late Capitalism (Verso, 2023) analyzes a swath of cultural forms from auto-fiction to Netflix binges and immersive art installations. For Kornbluh, neoliberalism’s economic disintermediation manifests itself in a new dominant cultural style that renounces complex forms of representation, abstraction, and mediation in favor of instantaneity, memoir, and literalism. An ambitious and far-reaching intervention into politics and aesthetics, Immediacy is ultimately an impassioned defense of the power of art to reflect, critique, and transform the world.”
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::: Music :::
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We didn’t know we needed this but we did.
Eminem - LOSE YOURSELF (Sung by 331 Movies!)
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::: Health & Wellness :::
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‘Now Is Not the Time to Eat Bagged Lettuce’ (The Atlantic)
Serious. Real risk.
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‘Queer ecologists are spreading knowledge & changing lives amid climate crisis’ (LGBTQ Nation)
"In those eco-queer stories, LGBTQ+ writers and activists used the combined lenses of ecology and queerness to critique of mainstream society. Through their own experiences of marginalization, they came to see how nature, too, was being exploited for the benefit of a privileged few—at the expense of everyone’s future. They were among the first to draw a direct connection between ending inequality and halting the assault on the natural world."
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‘Baffling chronic pain eases after doses of gut microbes’ (Nature)
Small, early trial but anything positive for fibro is newsworthy
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Apparently I’m totes on fleek (I know no one says this anymore… but did they ever really, I mean come on now…) with having kinda sorta done this “hack”. I’m a lazy girl it would seem. Let’s be real though—this is not all that definitely from the man-child maneuver (limited shade intended) of eating spaghetti over the sink right out the pot.
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::: The Trump Regime :::
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Trump seems to have acknowledged that he cannot run again in 2028.
But he sure likes making “jokes” about it.
In Trump’s words to the Canadian PM, “Never say never.”
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100 Days That Shook the World: How Trump and the GOP Broke America’s Role in Global Leadership (Assembly Required with Stacey Abrams)
Really good overview.
Important: Articulates how the U.S. (thanks to Trump) has lost all credibility on the global stage.
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‘Boise could make the Pride flag an official city flag for this surprising reason’ (LGBTQ Nation)
“Boise Mayor Lauren McLean (D) has been fighting for LGBTQ+ visibility since a state law was passed in April saying government entities may only fly local, state, and federal flags.
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::: Small Explorations & Deep Dives :::
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Grok (Elon’s answer to ChatGPT) admits it was trained to have a right-wing bias but numerous sources have discovered it has been sharing accurate facts, in turn, upsetting MAGA types since the LLM chatbot is contradicting their worldview.
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‘Experts Alarmed as ChatGPT Users Developing Bizarre Delusions’ (Futurism)
This might be a little bit of scaremongering… but it remains unsettling.
Based on my own experience going down rabbit holes in conversations with AI chatbots… I could see getting into trouble if you’re not checking in with yourself regularly and doing constant assessment of the data. There’s a cognitive load issue at hand— as in we cannot take in this much data thrown at us at once… so we think we’re learning but we’re not retaining all the information from these engagements. It’s fleeting. We can’t process at the speed of AI. This is going to become more and more obvious. Wait and see.
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“To qualify, a candidate must be actively shaping and changing our culture in real time.”
Oh, taking joy in the power to make lists.
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‘30 Ways to Revitalize Arts & Culture: I can dream, can't I?’ (Ted Gioia/The Honest Broker)
There are really good ideas here. You can think of your own takes and wish lists.
I posted a few comments via Substack’s “Notes”.
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A concerning precedent worth watching…
‘Family uses AI to create video for deadly Chandler road rage victim's own impact statement’ (ABC15)
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Con…clave
Life imitates art:
‘Cardinals are watching ‘Conclave’ the movie for guidance on the actual conclave’ (Politico)
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Con…vergence.
‘Scientists Say Dogs And Cats Are Evolving to Look More Alike. But Why?’ (Science Alert)
I think about “Crabification” (officially “carcinization”) weirdly often. Maybe onto something?
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‘First American Pope Is A Villanova Graduate’ (Local News)
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“With the name Leo XIV, Prevost inherits a legacy of reform and social justice.”
“Leo has been a relatively popular name for popes — the fourth most, in fact. Prevost’s most recent predecessor, Pope Leo XIII, who reigned from 1878 to 1903, is sometimes referred to as the first modern pope, overseeing a church that was responding to a time of rapid industrialization and globalization. Leo XIII published the encyclical “Rerum Novarum” (On New Things) in 1891, which promoted the rights of workers and the need to fight injustice and help the poor.” (Religion News)
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The so-called ‘Birthday Effect’
“Would you believe me if I told you that you’re actually more likely to die on your birthday than on other days of the year?” (The Pudding)
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Ethics Bowl (AP)
I wish I had done debate team in high school. I’m not even sure we had one.
Ok, I was way too shy and not articulate enough for this… at the time… or even now… but still… really sounds oddly enjoyable.
If you happen to have been involved in debate during your K-12 years, then I think you’ll especially enjoy Ben Lerner’s The Topeka School.
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‘Nike’s Pre-Scuffed Air Force 1s Get Cleaner the More You Wear Them’ (HiConsumption)
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Clickbait.
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The eminem video is inspired Mark!