When the communities around you are policing their borders and in a state of war with other communities, it is madness to preach the need for community. When tech companies are mining our behavior in order to organize us into affinity groups more easily targeted by ads, you cannot trust the algorithm’s recommendations. When the world can only offer you conformity and exploitation, you must refuse them both. You must take the gnostic road.
Plans for our family vacation this summer are starting to come together. I was initially trying to include too much and it was complicating the logistics. We’ve all talked it over and we’re settling on a couple of days in San Francisco, including a visit to Muir Woods, and then the rest of the week in Carmel and Monterey. Let me know if you have any suggestions.
My reading has also started honing in on California. I was already reading Robinson Jeffers’ poetry (who lived in Carmel and whose home I plan to visit). I’ve had High Weirdness: Drugs, Esoterica, and Visionary Experience in the Seventies on my to-read list for a long time and I’m finally getting around to it. The events covered by the book center on California. Finally, I decided I was long past due to read some John Muir. I picked up a collection of his writing titled Essential Muir: A Selection of John Muir’s Best (And Worst) Writings - which interested me because it attempts to balance out his status as a green icon with a frank admission of his racism.
Jon Batiste: What a wonderful world 🎶
One of the mantras of those that believe what public health officials have been telling us about COVID-19 is “trust the science” (or sometimes “believe the science”). While I am one of those that trusts the public health officials, I have some reservations about “trust the science.” Not because I am an anti-vaxxer or even doubt the scientific consensus. My problem with the phrase is that is betrays a certain dangerous sloppiness.
Blyssid be the tyme that appil take was! Therefore we mown syngyn Deo gratias! – Final stanza of “Adam Lay Ybounden” Years ago, back when we all still went to public libraries, I checked out a collection of Christmas carols performed by the Choir of King’s College. One of the most curious carols was the one linked above - a six-hundred year old English song by an unknown author, existing only in this manuscript.
New Jack White!
Is there a state of life that is identifiable as “meaningful?” What does that look like? Is the questioner imagining a person who spends their time doing charitable work, or meditating, or finally making their way through their to-read list? But that may not count as “meaningful” for everyone. Those are generally seen as good things, but there are also a lot of other good things, some of which may be in competition with other good things.
My favorite Tiny Desk Concert: Cory Henry and the Funk Apostles
One of the first questions to ask when you’ve uncovered an ideology is, “who does this benefit?” Let’s take the example from the linked post, that of activism as the only correct way to be an engaged citizen. Who would have an interest in perpetuating the activist model of constant engagement with the news, contacting legislators, attending protests, and voting? The following comes to mind: News organizations and social media companies have a direct, obvious, and well-documented stake in keeping your attention on their firehose of content.