Mooretoons

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.”