The president just spoke out against hatred and bigotry like a child forced to give a book report.
I am all over the place today. It might be lack of sleep or too much caffeine to make up for the lack of sleep — or both? But here we are. Some of this stuff is pretty new, some of it a little old. I was just interested in what might be written about Sun Ra lately, and came across this fascinating spoken history of making “Space Is The Place” (1974) featuring members of his band. The rigorous, grueling conditions Sun Ra put his musicians through reminds me of similar treatment by Captain Beefheart, another eccentric genius from that era of experimental music. I don’t know if Sun Ra and Beefheart ever met, but I wonder what they thought of each other; at least, I can’t imagine Beefheart not having listened to Sun Ra’s music, but I would not be surprised if a Jazz master like Sun Ra had never heard of an obscure rock musician like Beefheart. Now I have a time travel fantasy of arranging a meeting between the two, a collision of sensibilities, so wildly alike and yet not, that could disrupt the path of history and, who knows, save us from our present timeline? Speaking of timelines: Chuck Wendig proposes breaking up the Star Wars properties. The canon is out of control.
The College Admissions Scandal Could Have Lasting Impacts for Disabled People
By Brittney McNamara
“Ableism is rampant in academia and it seems like every few days there’s a professor writing a blog about how they don’t like to provide accommodations, or they think they should be able to ban laptops to stop Johnny from surfing Facebook, while Franklin may need it to be able to take notes,” Cokley said. “I have no doubt students will feel increased pressure not to disclose [their disability], and as a result will struggle to complete their coursework due to being afraid of being called a ‘fraudster’ when asking for access to tools that they are entitled to by law.”
Sun Ra: “There’s a lot of strange stuff that goes on around the pyramids – why don’t you bring a tape?”
By Tom Pinnock
‘SCOTT: When I auditioned for Sonny, he said, “Look, I work for the creator, and my band is the creator’s band. If you want money, fame or fortune, you don’t wanna work with me, because I work for the Creator.” And he went on to talk about a few other things, then he repeated, “If you want money, fame or fortune…” That was the first time I sat with him, but I found that whenever you talked to Sun Ra you would hear about the Creator.’
How Did Reading and Writing Evolve? Neuroscience Gives a Clue
By Derek Hodgson
“Recent extensive brain imaging of the visual cortex as people read text has provided important insights into how the brain perceives simple patterns. In my new paper, published in the Journal of Archaeological Science Reports, I analyse such research to argue that the earliest human-made patterns were aesthetic rather than symbolic, and describe what that means for the evolution of reading and writing.”
Star Wars: A Modest Proposal
By Chuck Wendig
“One of the other problems is that a single timeline is essentially treated as a history — it’s why canon is a tough nut to crack, because canon treats stories less like stories and more like a history book. Everything becomes the fucking Silmarillion. Everything becomes binary — er, not the binary language of moisture vaporators, but rather, meaning things in the stories are either TRUE or they are FALSE, and realistically, in a connected canonical timeline, everything must be true, and nothing can disagree. Even though actual history books are full of disagreement (which is why historians are a thing). Because every single story informs every other single story — and the whole body of storytelling! — it means canon is a pair of goddamn zip-ties that gets tighter and tighter as more material is added, as you wriggle around.”
It has been a couple of weeks since I last posted my online reading to this category. Weird winter weather and freelance work got a bit distracting. I want to keep up on this as a kind of reading diary and to keep track of the more interesting things I come across. Rarely will I post any news items, they’re too transitory. Essays and interesting research get my attention more. By the way, if ya wanna recommend something, I’m all ears.
Inside the Movement to Reprogram Masculinity
By Isabelle Kohn
“As an adult, Crook began to put this into practice through art. He invites straight, cis men to his studio to model for nude portrait sessions in which he attempts to (consensually) deconstruct and reconstruct their sense of masculinity through the type of intimate discussion that far transcends typical man-to-man chats. He asks questions like, ‘Do you remember the first time you were discouraged to touch, hug, or be emotional with your male friends?’ and ‘How does it feel to be called a ‘pussy’ or be told to ‘man up?’’”
Why Do People Believe in Pseudoscience?
By Daniel Kolitz
“History and psychology both suggest that we cling most tenaciously to our beliefs, even the false ones, when they support some narrative about who we think we are. That’s why there is always a bull market for ideas that seem to justify injustice, like the racist pseudoscience of the 19th and early 20th centuries or, I would argue, climate change denialism today. Slaveholders, and CEOs, want reassurance that they’re not bad people. This goes for those of us who believe in good science, too. I have seen a few scientific theories tested first-hand; I find airplanes and penicillin pretty convincing. But let’s be honest: I also believe in science because I see myself as the kind of person who believes in science. This confirms my own view of myself as rational and well educated, and it conforms with the views of people I respect.”
Michael Moorcock on H.G. Wells, Reluctant Prophet: A Sci-Fi Master on the Cusp of Modernism
“Wells joined the Fabians in 1903, but he was already on his way to being a convinced socialist. His ideas about the future of capitalism are, of course, thoroughly reflected in his depiction of the Eloi and the Morlocks, amongst whom the main adventure takes place. In some ways his social commentary is the least interesting element in the book. Wells’s penchant for “futurism,” for issuing warnings about Things to Come as a popular oracle, gradually worked against his creative instincts. Indeed, his career, though continuing to be far more interesting and vital than is conventionally held, turned a corner around the time of the First World War, as if he recoiled from seeing his darker visions take shape before his eyes. Perhaps in rejecting literary ambition in favor of being a popular seer, he was trying to escape the implications of his own creative gifts.”
Defining Generations: Where Millennials End and Generation Z Begins
By Michael Dimock
“Most Millennials were between the ages of 5 and 20 when the 9/11 terrorist attacks shook the nation, and many were old enough to comprehend the historical significance of that moment, while most members of Gen Z have little or no memory of the event. Millennials also grew up in the shadow of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which sharpened broader views of the parties and contributed to the intense political polarization that shapes the current political environment. And most Millennials were between 12 and 27 during the 2008 election, where the force of the youth vote became part of the political conversation and helped elect the first black president. Added to that is the fact that Millennials are the most racially and ethnically diverse adult generation in the nation’s history. Yet the next generation – Generation Z – is even more diverse.”